Living On A Prayer
by Lady Kea
Summary: AU Sesshoumaru is the emperor of Athens and Kagome is a priestess in the temple of Artemis, sworn to remain a maiden all her life. What happens when Sesshoumaru sees her and decides she will be his bride? SessKag
1. 01

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: new idea. Will it work? Hopefully. _

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter One_

Kagome knelt at the base of Artemis's statue in prayer. When she had completed her prayer she rose to her feet and left the main room of the temple and retreated to the chambers where she and the other priestess' of Artemis resided. She sat down upon her pallet and laid down for an afternoon nap before the nightly ceremony commenced.

As she closed her eyes to sleep, the temple bells began to ring. Kagome hurried out of bed and into the main room of the temple. The other priestess' seemed to be just as confused as she was. The head priestess stepped into the middle of the massive round room to address all of the girls.

"Daughters of Artemis: tonight Emperor Sesshoumaru will be attending out nightly ceremony in honor to pray for a good hunt tomorrow. He will be accompanied by his head priest and brother, along with a few other servants. I wanted to tell you girls this all now so you can prepare yourself. Tonight, as is every night, is about our goddess; not about who is at the ceremony, remember that. Until then you are all dismissed."

The girls returned to where they had come from, and as Kagome began to walk back to the chambers, the head priestess called to her.

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned around and bowed her head quickly, "Yes Mother Kaede?"

"Because tonight we are entertaining a very important guest, I would like you to sing for the goddess tonight at the ceremony. You do have the loveliest voice."

"If it pleases the goddess, and you, I would be honored to Mother Kaede."

"Bless you child. You are favored in Artemis's eyes."

Kagome turned back to the goddess' statue and knelt quickly before it, saying a prayer of thanks. "Mother Kaede, who is the protector of the emperor's house?"

"Why Zeus of course child. The king of God's surely is the protector of the most powerful man in Athens."

"Of course, that was foolish of me. I will retreat to my room for now and I shall see you for tonight's ceremony."

"Of course child. Until then, may the goddess go with you."

"And with you also Mother Kaede." Kagome said with a smile before turning from the woman and walking to the chambers again.

She sat down on her pallet once more, but this time rather than attempting to sleep she picked up her lute and began to play, checking to see if her hands still remembered the prayer. Her fingers were adept at the lute and they moved quickly and gracefully over the strings. Although she wanted Artemis to be please with her prayer, she also wanted Emperor Sesshoumaru to be pleased with it. She practiced for hours, loosing track of time. The lamps were light as Apollo lowered the sun in the sky and Artemis brought the moon into full view.

The priestess' gathered in the main room of the temple as Emperor Sesshoumaru entered the temple with his closest advisors and family. They took seats near a smaller statue of the goddess as the priestesses prepared for the ceremony. Kagome stood in the center of the round room, on a carving of the moon in its fullest state, with her lute in hand. As she began to play, all attention was on her as she deftly played a song full of praise and beauty. She looked to the emperor, seeing a pleased look on his face before turning to face the statue and lifting her voice in prayer.

_Oh Goddess Artemis. _

_Protector of maidens, pour your blessings upon us._

_Keep safe your daughters, those who find favor in your eye._

_As your glowing moon rises in the air, a symbol of you love and constancy._

_Remember those who sing your praises; your precious maidens._

As her voice halted, her fingers continued to play the notes as the other priestesses continued the ceremony. Kagome slowly began to stop playing and placed her lute at the feet of Artemis as she knelt before the statue, deep in prayer – unaware of anyone around her. The presence of the goddess surrounded her and she opened her mouth and out sailed one clean, perfect note. There were no words spoken to this note, but everyone there knew what Artemis was saying through her priestess: all would be well. Her blessings went with all present.

The ceremony ended and Kagome stood at the base of Artemis's statue; she had never felt so moved before, and knew that Mother Kaede had been right, she was indeed favored by the goddess. And that favoritism had granted Emperor Sesshoumaru success in his hunt the following morning.

She looked to where the emperor had sat and saw that he had already departed with his household. She was disappointed by this, she had hoped to get a good look at the handsome man before he had left, but the goddess had not allowed it. Kagome picked her lute off of the goddess' feet and retired to her bed for the night; feeling Morpheus' power drifting over her.

-----

"Who was that priestess? The one who sang and played so beautifully. What is her name?" Emperor Sesshoumaru asked Miroku, the high priest of Zeus and his most trusted advisor as they walked from the temple of Artemis to his palace.

"I do not know sire. I can find out for you posthaste."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Yes, very good. And when you find out who she is, I want her brought to my household."

"But sire, she is a priestess of Artemis, and Artemis requires all of her daughters to reside in the temple to remain close to her. Especially those who have found such favor, such as our little songbird."

"I don't care Miroku. She needs to be here. I will pray to Zeus for Artemis's understanding and forgiveness from sunrise to sunset if that is what he requires."

"Are you smitten with her brother? You know what the law says about taking a priestess forcefully from her temple. I believe you have decreed the punishment for this is death." Inuyasha said slyly.

"I make the laws brother. I can also bend them to my will." He snapped and then turned back to Miroku, "Go pray to Zeus for answers. I want her here and I will stop at nothing to get her."

Miroku bowed, "Of course sire."

Sesshoumaru returned to his chambers to prepare for sleep but Morpheus was not as merciful to him as he had been to Kagome. She plagued his thoughts as he turned in bed, feeling unrest he hadn't felt in a long while.

After hours of struggling to reach sleep, he climbed from his bed and made his way to the statue of Zeus that rested in his antechamber. He kneeled before the statue and bowed his head in prayer to his protector.

"Father Zeus, protector of my house and my family. Please deliver the priestess of Artemis into my household without anger from her patron goddess. Soften her heart father so she can allow her favored priestess to come to me."

A single thunderclap was heard in the silent sky and Sesshoumaru knew that Zeus was on his side.

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_Authoress' Note: I'm a nerd and love mythology, so I wanted to write this. And I'm also turning towards Sesshoumaru and Kagome as a couple so I wanted to try writing my first SessKag fic. Let me know if it's worth continuing!_


	2. 02

**Disclaimer: I only own my ideas. **

_Authoress' Note: still going strong. I have a lot of ideas so I hope they come together well. Please keep reading and reviewing! _

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Two_

The lamp over Kagome's head became illuminated, waking her up. She sat up in her bed and looked around; there was no one there who could have lit the lamp that was not burning brightly above her. The lamps in the halls of the temple began to illuminate one by one, Kagome rose from bed and followed the trail of lit lamps all the way into the vacant main room of the temple. Kagome never realized how large the room was at night; looking around the empty room she was nervous for the first time she had ever been in her own home.

The main light over the statue of Artemis illuminated, lighting the face of the goddess. Kagome knelt before the statue, knowing that it was the goddess as behind the miraculous lighting of the lamps. Kagome looked up at the face of the goddess, smiling down on her.

"Goddess Artemis, what do you want of me?" she asked softly, knowing that she didn't need to speak loudly for the goddess to hear her.

"Kagome, my daughter. My father Zeus has big plans for you. You are to take a station in the emperor's household. The emperor has prayed to his protector and guardian for you and my father has asked my permission to release you from my service. Serve me by serving the emperor Kagome; that would be joy to my heart." The goddess' voice sounded in the room.

"But Goddess; I wish to be a maiden all of my life, to serve you. If I leave the temple and serve the emperor…if I marry…then I would no longer be favored in your eyes." Kagome whispered to the statue's feet; avoiding looking at Artemis's downcast eyes.

"My daughter, you gain your favor by obeying my wishes. You will always be my favored one, now go and do mine and my father's command."

"As you wish goddess." Kagome said, a tear rolling down her cheek. She stood and turned to return to her chamber. As she turned around she saw men from the emperor's household walking up the temple steps and towards her. They approached her and before they had the chance to say anything she spoke.

"I have spoken with my goddess. I am ready to join the emperor's household." She said, bowing her head.

"Very well priestess, come with us."

Kagome didn't have the chance to say good bye to Mother Kaede or the other priestesses – the servants of the emperor took her from the temple right then and escorted her to Emperor Sesshoumaru's palace.

She walked between the guards through the center of Athens, climbing the many stairs into the palace. She was not shown to a room, or even given a change of clothes – rather, she was brought directly to the chambers of the emperor.

The guards knocked three times on the door before a servant came to the door.

"What is your business with Emperor Sesshoumaru?" she asked.

"Tell the emperor that we have retrieved the priestess he requested."

_Requested…that makes me seem like property, something you can own._ Kagome thought and was disgusted at the emperor for referring to her in such a way.

"Send her in" she heard the emperor say.

The servant opened the door and the guards pushed Kagome forward into the room. Kagome walked into the room uneasily, she looked around, trying to figure out which side room the emperor was waiting for her in.

"Priestess? He is in here." The servant said, pointing to a door on her left.

Kagome thanked the servant and knocked on the door the servant had pointed to.

Kagome took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door. It opened, revealing the emperor and his brother sitting across from each other on separate couches.

Kagome walked into the room and bowed before the emperor. "Emperor Sesshoumaru, I – Kagome, priestess of Artemis – am honored to join your household. Both my goddess and your protector Zeus have deemed it so and so I am here." She said meekly, still bowing.

"Rise priestess." Sesshoumaru said, looking Kagome up and down as she stood before him. She was even more beautiful standing before him then she was singing in the temple. "Do you know why you are here?" he asked.

"No sire, Artemis did not tell me. She told me only that her father and herself have heard your prayer and I would come here."

"Artemis…spoke to you priestess?"

"Yes. Does your protector not speak to you?"

"Through nature he does. With thunder and lighting and wind; but he does not speak to me."

"I am sorry sire."

"And why is that Priestess? What would make you feel pity for an emperor?"

"I am sorry your protector does not speak to you as Artemis does with me. She speaks with me often, telling me that I am favored."

"Then you are blessed indeed priestess." He said, his voice at a cold monotone, something that frightened Kagome, rendering her unable to read his emotions at all.

Kagome nodded, "so I am told."

"You must be curious as to why you have been brought here."

"If you wish to share your intentions with me I would be pleased to hear them."

"You flatter me priestess" He said, his voice still a monotone. Kagome tried to figure out whether or not what he had said was to be considered good or bad, but his voice did not allow her to do so.

"Is it not my duty to flatter you sire?" She replied, decided it was safest to simply continue being humble before him.

Sesshoumaru cracked a very slight smile, almost unnoticeable to Kagome, and turned to his brother, "She's coy Inuyasha."

"I have noticed that; just your style, brother." He replied, staring at Kagome as he talked.

"Kagome, the reason I have brought you here is a very important matter to both myself and this city-state." He said, the smile gone and the icy voice returning as he directed attention from his brother back to Kagome.

"What reason could that be sire? I am but a priestess, how could I be important to the city-state or you?"

"Priestess, simply put I have brought you here to become my wife and the empress of this city-state."

Kagome took a step away from the brothers, not knowing how to react, but knowing it was not what she wanted but also knowing she did not have a choice in the matter.

"Don't look so disgusted priestess," Inuyasha said, enjoying the fact that she looked so uncomfortable.

"But Emperor Sesshoumaru, I am a maiden, a daughter of Artemis. I cannot marry you." She stuttered after a moment of silence, her mind spinning.

"Did Artemis not send you here?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, she did."

"And did she tell you what to do once you were here?"

"Whatever I was told to do. And she said that I would remain in her favor no matter what. Even if I…married." She said, hesitating on the last word.

"So it seems Artemis has already spoken. We will marry Priestess, even if I have to win you over myself" He said coldly.

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_Authoress' Note: hmm…sounds like a challenge. I hope you are all still enjoying it. Please review and I'll keep writing!_


	3. 03

**Disclaimer: I only own my ideas…yeah.**

_Authoress' Note: Once again I cannot BELIEVE how many amazing reviews I'm receiving. This makes me so happy that this story is going over so well. This makes me so excited to write more!!! This is probably being my last update for a little bit so I hope you enjoy it._

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Three_

"Well, Artemis has spoken. I will win your heart priestess, count on that. I will not be wed to a woman who wants nothing to do with me."

"I'm sorry sire, but I feel that is how things are going to happen." Kagome said defiantly, surprising Inuyasha more than Sesshoumaru.

"Do you know who you are talking to priestess?" Inuyasha asked, leaning towards her.

"Inuyasha, calm yourself. Let her be defiant, that makes it all the more fun." He said, the almost unnoticeable smile gracing his stoic features once again, "My guards will escort you to your chambers priestess; and you may rest there for the night."

"If I may sire, I wish to visit the temple of Athena."

"Why would you wish to do that priestess? She is not your patron goddess."

"But she is the goddess of this city-state and I wish to seek wisdom from her. If I may, I would greatly appreciate it."

Sesshoumaru thought for a moment and then looked to his brother whose eyes told him to say no. He cracked a tiny smile, her "bravery" making him all the more interested in her. "If Miroku, my head vassal accompanies you, and you are free to visit the temple of Athena. I will send for him and you may leave."

"But sire the temples…" she started.

"Will be open for whoever seeks guidance. They do not close priestess, surely you know that."

Kagome nodded, "Yes sire."

Miroku was sent for and arrived in a few moments time and together they left the palace and walked to the temple of Athena in his center of the square.

They walked in silence for a while before Miroku attempted to make conversation with Kagome.

"How long have you been in service to Artemis?"

"All of my life. I have pledged to give Artemis my life; but that pledge will soon be broken."

Miroku nodded, "I have been in service to Zeus for as long as I can remember. My family has long being under the protection of Zeus and to thank him for his blessing, I was sent to the temple to become a priest. I was angry at first; I had an arranged marriage to a girl I had loved from the moment I saw her; I was only around seven at the time but that didn't matter to me. But when I was pledged to the temple; the promise of her hand was taken away from me. But in exchange for taking my future bride from me Zeus has greatly blessed me. He has placed me in the emperor's house and given me everything I could need. This was the best road for me to take I feel, I don't know what I would do otherwise."

"I feel the same way. Granted, I didn't loose anything like you did. Mother Kaede says that I appeared wandering around the temple when I was a young girl and she took me in and raised me as a priestess; saying that Artemis had brought me to the temple for a reason. If I wasn't a daughter of Artemis, I would probably be a street urchin – or worse."

"The Gods care for those with whom they grant favor. And our protectors have been good to us. I know that you do not want to marry, I know that you wished to remain a maiden all your life, but think of it this way priestess: Artemis would not let anything happen to you that she didn't want to have happen to you. And Zeus wouldn't allow Emperor Sesshoumaru to act unless he had approved the emperor's actions. The gods are on the side of this marriage priestess, just think of it that way."

"Thank you Miroku, you are very wise."

Miroku smiled, "thank you priestess. I try to offer my wisdom when I can."

"You may call me Kagome, I suppose. Seeing as we will soon be part of the same household."

Miroku shook his head, "No priestess, we _are_ part of the same household. You have been brought to the emperor; you are now someone who lives there."

"Of course" she said, hating the fact that he was right.

They walked up the steps to the temple of Athena to see that several lanterns were still lit. Kagome walked over to the grey statue and knelt down to pray.

"Mighty Pallas, (_a/n: Pallas is a "nickname" of sorts for Athena. Who is the goddess of wisdom to those who didn't catch that.) _I ask you as a simple priestess to grant me the wisdom to see my situation clearly and let me know that there is greater good in what will happen. I just want proof that what I'm doing is right. I am nervous, goddess, and I don't know what to do."

Kagome stood and looked at Miroku, "I was hoping that she would speak to me, as Artemis does."

"Athena's voice is the softest of all the gods. But when you hear it, you will get exactly the answer you need." A priestess said, stepping out from the shadows.

"Do you hear her?" Kagome asked eagerly.

The priestess smiled, "Of course. She is telling you not to worry. To look at things with a clear mind and then the answers will reveal themselves. And she is also wondering why a priestess of Artemis is praying at her feet."

"I am here because I seek wisdom, wisdom that is not beyond Artemis's abilities, but I felt it more fitting to beseech the goddess of wisdom for such a request."

The priestess smiled, "That last question was actually my own. My name is Sango and I am the head priestess in this temple. And I welcome you priestess of Artemis."

"My name is Kagome, novice priestess of the temple of Artemis. I am glad that Athena has smiled upon me in my time of loss and confusion and given me the answers I yearn for."

"The goddess wishes me to tell you that you are welcome here always and she hopes you will not be afraid to come to her. She also says that her sister Artemis is right in choosing you."

Kagome knelt quickly before Athena's statue again, "Thank you goddess." She rose and looked to Miroku and then back to Sango, "Thank you for your hospitality, but I fear that I must return. May the goddess go with you Sango."

"As she goes with you." Sango said with a bow of her head.

Miroku and Kagome turned and left the temple and walked briskly back to the emperor's palace. They navigated mazes of corridors until Miroku stopped in front of a rather ornate door. it was intricately carved with scenes of men hunting boar, all under the light of a full moon. Miroku turned the knob and pushed the door open, "This is your room priestess. I hope you find it suitable. I leave you now and will see you in the morning as Apollo begins his trek across the sky. May Artemis keep you safe."

"And may Zeus' protection be with you. Good night Miroku."

She walked into the room and lit a few lanterns to light her surroundings. The room was exquisite; unlike anything she had ever seen (besides the emperor's chambers of course). Everything was carved like her door, scenes of the hunt and the moon and of her goddess. A small statue of Artemis sat in one corner, surrounded by pots of flowers. Kagome smiled and was comforted seeing Artemis there and knew that despite what she felt her heart knew that Sesshoumaru was ready to try and win her heart. She walked over to the large bed and saw a box sitting on the pillow. She picked it up and lifted the lid – revealing a stunning diamond necklace. There was a note placed on top of the necklace that read a simple message from the emperor.

_Priestess,_

_The games have begun. Your heart will be mine._

_-Sesshoumaru_

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_Authoress' Note: there it is. I hope you enjoyed! And if you did, please take a moment to tell me so! Thanks guys!_


	4. 04

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. **

_Authoress' Note: thanks so much for the reviews! They make me so happy! Enjoy this!_

_PS. I'm actually happy that people are correcting my mythology. It means that people care about mythology. I realize that I am doing some things incorrectly, such as having Artemis rather than Artemis and having an emperor in a democratic city-state. But I hope that you can all look past that and still enjoy the story because it is just too complicated to change things now. So…enjoy…despite some mistakes._

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Four_

Kagome picked up the box containing the necklace and placed it on a chair near the bed. She looked at the note Sesshoumaru had written and scoffed before throwing it on top of the box. She pulled back the covers and got into bed and pulled the tissue around the bed and lay down to sleep for the night; trying not to think of what was to come.

Apollo began to pull the sun across the sky as Kagome slowly began to stir. She sat up in her bed and looked at her surroundings. She was unused to such an elaborate room just for her. She was used to sharing a room with all of the priestess' and having only her pallet as her own. She climbed out the bed, finding a pair of silk slippers and a robe draped over a chair, most likely set there by one of Sesshoumaru's servants. She slipped the robe on over her simple white chiton and walked out of her room and down the hall.

She looked carefully at all of her surroundings; white marble pillars lined the palace, reminding Kagome of the home she had left the day before. She ran her hand along the cool marble and yearned to be at the temple with the other priestesses. She stumbled into the courtyard and into the early sunlight. She saw the priests standing in front of the large statue of Zeus and saw Miroku standing behind the group of priests. She began to walk to him and as she was half way across the courtyard he saw her and began to walk towards her.

They met in the middle of the courtyard and shared a moment of awkward silence. Kagome didn't like feeling such awkwardness around Miroku; as a fellow priest Miroku was the one person she wanted to feel close with – but because he was the one who aided her being taken, she was being careful with how close she would allow herself to get with him.

"Good morning Kagome" he said warmly, "Zeus has blessed us with a beautiful morning. We are fortunate indeed."

Kagome nodded, "That is true. Zeus smiles on this house."

"You shouldn't be out here in just a robe Kagome. I believe that it would be in your best interest to change before you go and see Emperor Sesshoumaru to break your fast. You should have plenty of clothes to choose from."

Kagome nodded, "I agree. I hope to see you again soon Miroku." she said and then turned and began to walk away from him. She got halfway across the courtyard before she heard Miroku calling to her.

"Please keep an open mind priestess! I will pray that your goddess will soften your heart to him!"

Kagome scoffed silently, _my goddess will not obey you. I cannot keep an open mind about something that disgusts me. Artemis has turned her back on me and sent me here. I don't know if there's anything I can do but hope for the best _she thought.

She stepped from the courtyard into the palace and walked back to her room. She closed the door behind her and walked to the center of her room, not wanting to bring herself to change. She didn't want to anything to please him; he had taken everything she has loved from her and expected her to love him. She sunk to her knees and laid her head down on the cool marble and began to sob. The tears beaded and ran away from her, gliding across the marble to the feet of Artemis.

"Priestess, why do you cry?" the sweet, powerful voice of Artemis asked, filling her mind and the surrounding chambers.

Kagome lifted her head from the floor and looked around, though she already knew that she would not find the source of the voice.

"You have betrayed me goddess. You have sent me away from your temple and left me here to marry against my will."

"No priestess. I have not betrayed you. And you will not marry against your will; Emperor Sesshoumaru is not permitted to marry you until you agree to it. You will continue to stay here until that happens. But priestess, do not close your heart; you will not want me to open it for you." And with that the voice disappeared and the chamber was a silent void once more. Kagome remained on the floor for a few moments more, thinking about what had happened and trying to understand what her goddess was telling her.

There was a soft knock on the door and a servant walked in. "Priestess Kagome?" she asked softly, waiting until Kagome sat up and looked at her.

"Yes?" she asked, wiping her face and sniffling a few times.

"Emperor Sesshoumaru has requested your presence in his chambers."

"Yes. I just have to change and then I will be able to go see him."

"Of course priestess. He also requests that you dress for the hunt; for you will be accompanying him this afternoon."

Kagome nodded and the servant slipped out of the room as silently as she has come in.

Kagome stood and walked to the armoire filled with different colored chitons and tried to decide what she was going to wear for the hunt. She pulled a dark burgundy one out of the armoire and slipped it on. She braided her hair and twisted it into a bun and fastened it with pins on top of her head. She folded her worn chiton and placed it next to her robe on a chair and walked out of her room.

Her feet miraculously remembered the exact path to Emperor Sesshoumaru's door and it was only a matter of moments before she was standing in front of the emperor's door. She lifted her hand limply to the door and softly brought her knuckles down upon the smooth wood of the door. Her knock barely made a sound but nonetheless the door swung open and Sesshoumaru was there, staring at her from his seat on the couch. He motioned her forward and she stepped into the room – the servants closing the doors behind her, trapping her with no where to go but forward.

Sesshoumaru sat up and walked towards her.

"Good morning Priestess." He said, his usual monotone still in place, "I trust you are prepared for the hunt?"

Kagome keep her eyes fixed on the ground as he talked to her, "I hope you will have success on your hunt and I am prepared to accompany you."

"Please priestess, do not act as you are being sentenced to death."

"I apologize sire."

"Hn." He said simply, before turning to leave the chambers, looking back at Kagome who was still standing in place, looking confused as to what she was supposed to do. He looked at her and rolled his eyes slightly before he begrudgingly offered his arm to her. She simply stared at it, an eyebrow raised. He sighed before taking her hand from her side and placing it on his elbow and led her from the room.

As they walked Kagome's head was spinning, full of thoughts. The emperor claimed that he wished to marry her, but he never appeared as anything more than a cold, stoic man when they were together. He looked at her as though he wished she was not around, even though it was him who brought her to the palace. He told her he was going to win her heart, but Kagome had strong doubts that the way Sesshoumaru was going about things now, there was no way he would be able to win her. And yet he claimed that he would prove himself to her and being the emperor he had every means by which to do it.

She remembered the words of Artemis; warning her against hardening her heart and although she trusted and obeyed her goddess she resisted Sesshoumaru in every way. Her heart told her to hold his arm affectionately, but her head told her that until the emperor stopped treating her with such disdain, she would not show any sort of affection towards him. She shook the thoughts out of her head as they stepped out of the palace and out into the stables. She could see Sesshoumaru's majestic black horse being saddled for the hunt, and she saw the escorts on their mounts but she didn't see a horse for her to ride.

"Sire?" she asked nervously, moving her hand off of his arm.

"Yes priestess?"

"Where is the horse I will be riding?"

Sesshoumaru sighed again, looking at Kagome's confused and naïve face. "Right before you priestess; you will be riding with me."

Kagome swallowed hard, suddenly more nervous than she had ever been before. Since she was young she had a strange fear of riding horses, if she was riding by herself she could control the horse but the thought of riding a horse and not being in control of it chilled her to the bone.

"Is there a problem priestess?"

Kagome shook her head, "Not at all sire. I am just…a little wary of horses."

Sesshoumaru nodded in acknowledgement, Kagome noted that it was far better than him rolling his eyes or sighing at her. And for the first time, she swore she saw his cold eyes soften somewhat, "No need to be afraid. I am an excellent horseman. You are in no danger." He put his boot into the stirrup and pulled himself into the saddle, before reaching an arm down to Kagome; who tentatively lifted her arms to him. With one swift, graceful movement Sesshoumaru lifted Kagome off of the ground and placed her on the horse behind him. "Hold onto me priestess, I will not have you falling." He commanded, his icy voice returning and making Kagome somewhat disappointed that the brief moment of semi-kindness was so short lived.

But despite his tone, Kagome wrapped her arms around his waist, the fear of falling overcoming anything else. Inuyasha rode from around the corner on a large grey horse.

"Are you finally ready Sesshoumaru? We have all been waiting for a long while." He said, his voice clearly showing his impatience.

"Yes Inuyasha, we are ready." Sesshoumaru said in an annoyed voice that Kagome observed was usually reserved for the emperor's brother. He turned around slightly to look at Kagome, "You _are_ ready, right priestess?"

Kagome nodded and tightened her grip on his waist as Sesshoumaru spurred the horse into motion. Sesshoumaru, flanked by Inuyasha, lead his escorts into the woods. Within the first few minutes of the hunt, a boar was spotted. It was pursued heavily and taken down with one finely placed arrow between the shoulders; fired by Sesshoumaru.

"Well done sire!" one of the escorts exclaimed, "Artemis is on out side today!"

Sesshoumaru looked back at Kagome, acknowledging her presence but paying her no more attention. "Yes, I believe she is. It must have been our recent trip to her temple."

"Sire! A doe! She is quite large!" another escort yelled as two men picked up the boar and loaded it onto a cart that followed them.

At the sound of the man's words Kagome was disheartened. Deer were Artemis's favorite of all animals; she favored them and used them as messengers quite often. Artemis was also angry with those who killed her favorite creations and Kagome knew that if she witnessed a deer being slain; she would loose heart quickly. She tightened her grip on Sesshoumaru before he even spurred his animal into action.

Sesshoumaru turned and looked back at Kagome; her face buried into his back.

"Priestess?" he said, his voice mostly annoyed but Kagome could have sworn that his voice held a tinge of concern.

"Yes sire?" she asked.

"Is there a problem?"

"Artemis…Artemis…the doe…"

"Yes. Of course." He said to her before raising his voice to address his men, "MEN! There will be no deer killed on this hunt! The goddess Artemis has given us this boar and I will not anger her by slaying her most treasured animal! We will return to the palace and prepare the boar for our mid day meal!"

The men responded with many "Yes sire!" 's and "At once!" 's as they rode quickly back towards the castle; leaving Kagome, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha alone in the clearing.

"You are free to go as well brother." Sesshoumaru said, Kagome noted how good Sesshoumaru was at making any statement a command.

"Of course _brother_, I would not want to ruin anything between you and your priestess." he said with distaste, spurring his large grey gelding into a gallop and disappearing from sight in a matter of moments.

The doe came back into the clearing and stood at the edge looking at Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Kagome loosened her arms and slid herself off of the horse and began to slowly approach the doe. Sesshoumaru watched her, becoming more and more interested in what was happening. The doe walked slowly towards Kagome until the two were an arm's length away from each other. Kagome slowly moved her hand from her side and placed it on the doe's head, giving it a reassuring pat.

"You're welcome goddess" Sesshoumaru heard her whisper and then the doe fled the clearing. Sesshoumaru dismounted, his horse not moving from its place, knowing full well not to move. Sesshoumaru walked towards Kagome, who was still looking after where the doe had run. He placed a leather gloved hand upon her shoulder and she slowly turned around and – for the first time since she had been in his presence – looked him straight in the eye.

"The doe was from Artemis." He stated rather than asked.

She nodded, "She was. I thank you for sparing her. Artemis thanks you as well."

"It was of little consequence." He said, brushing off what Kagome saw as such a large gesture as something of such little importance. Sesshoumaru looked around the clearing, not knowing what else could be said or done between them and when he decided it was simply wasting time to remain there silently, he returned to his horse, swiftly mounting it.

"You are coming, are you not?" He asked, his voice still cold, but Kagome thought that she had heard a iota of warmth within it, as if the emperor was trying to be warmer towards her.

"Of course," She replied, walking to the horse and taking Sesshoumaru's hand in her own as he pulled her onto the horse. As they rode back Kagome thought on Sesshoumaru's actions during the hunt, while she was still convinced he was nothing more than a cold, cold man, there was a glimmer of hope deep within her that perhaps there was more to the icy emperor than meets the eye.

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_Authoress' Note: here is a longer chapter for you all. I really hope you've enjoyed it. Please review! Your reviews mean the world to me!_


	5. 05

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: thanks for the reviews…but all you who are upset with me for the last chapters end…just wait._

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Five_

They rode back to the palace in silence, Kagome simply holding on for dear life and Sesshoumaru racing to get back to the palace as if someone had been chasing him. Once they returned to the palace, Sesshoumaru brought his horse back to the stable and left Kagome to do what she pleased as he went to talk with his advisors.

Kagome walked back to her room not knowing what was going on. She walked by the emperor's chambers where she saw Inuyasha sitting with a few of Sesshoumaru's advisors.

"So you feel as if she may be falling for him already? You were right Inuyasha, all he had to do was play to her weaknesses…that doe thing during the hunt today was genius."

They all laughed and Inuyasha quieted them down, "I know! Sesshoumaru is smarter than I gave him credit for. It's only a matter of time until she forgets about being a priestess and just marries him. I give her a week before she agrees."

Kagome walked quickly past the door and kept her pace until she reached her own carved door. She twisted the knob and pushed the door open. She walked in a trance-like state into the room until she reached the small sofa that sat in front of her bed. She sat down on the sofa and put her head in her hands.

"What have I done? I'm such a fool." She looked to the statue of Artemis, "How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me!" She began to sob, refusing to look back at Artemis, "I hate him. I hate him." she said, over and over again.

There was a knock on the door and Kagome didn't even look up.

"Priestess? Are you here?" Miroku's voice spilled in from the other side of the door.

"Come in Miroku" she said, still crying.

Miroku pushed the door open and saw Kagome crying on her sofa. He quickly made his way across the room and sat down at her side.

"Why are you crying Kagome?" he asked, not knowing any reason why she would be crying.

Kagome sniffled a few times and caught her breath, "Because…I am a fool. Because…I believed him…I hate him…" she gasped out, her face still buried in her arms.

"Emperor Sesshoumaru?"

She nodded, "Yes. I hate him. I never want to see him again. I want to go back to the temple and live there for the rest of my life."

"Priestess, what happened?"

Kagome stood up and wiped her eyes, "If he asks for me, tell him I have gone to see Athena." She said rather than answering his question. She grabbed her small purse and walked out of the room, leaving Miroku still sitting on her floor.

Kagome walked from the palace, not talking or making eye contact with anyone. She walked down the main road until she reached the steps of the large temple of Athena. She could see the statue of the smiling goddess as she ascended the steps and her heart was comforted. She reached the top of the steps and walked towards the large statue in the center of the temple. As she knelt down at the goddess' feet she felt someone standing near her. She looked up to see the familiar face of Sango looking down on her.

"Priestess of Artemis, chosen one of the emperor, what brings you to our temple?" she asked warmly.

Kagome stood up, whispering a short prayer apologizing to the goddess for the interruption. "I have come for guidance. Neither my goddess of father Zeus have been much help to me as of late I am afraid."

"Come with me priestess" Sango said, extending her hand to Kagome. Kagome took her hand and was led to the priestess' chambers of the temple. Being the head priestess, Sango had her own small chamber and that is where she took Kagome. They both sat on Sango's small pallet and waited in silence for one of them to speak.

"Why have father Zeus and your goddess not given you the help you have requested? Are you not favored in their eyes?" Sango asked after several minutes of silence.

"I always believed I was. But I feel betrayed by them."

"Why? What has changed?"

Kagome sighed, "Everything has changed. Artemis and Zeus have both told me that I am to marry Emperor Sesshoumaru, that marrying him is my destiny and that I will not be dishonoring Artemis or my station as a priestess by marrying. But my faith is faltering priestess, I do not believe them."

"Do not worry Kagome. Your goddess has given you all you need to know. And nothing ill will come of you with the protection of Artemis and Zeus with you."

"Artemis said she would soften my heart…that is something very ill."

"The only reason why Artemis has told you that is to warn you against resisting your destiny. If this is what the gods have decided then this is your destiny. And delaying your destiny will only serve to anger the gods. Marriage to the emperor is not a horrible fate Kagome. There are much worse things that your destiny could have called you to do."

"I would rather be a martyr" Kagome mumbled to herself.

"Kagome, why did you come to Athena? Did you think she would grant you a request Artemis and her father have refused to grant?"

"In truth, I did. I came to ask Athena for two things. I want her to grant me the wisdom to see what the emperor's true intentions and feelings are and to know when he is being untrue. And I was also going to ask for a hardened heart." She added the last part softly.

"Priestess, you know as well as I do that Athena does not have the power to go against her father's wishes. Asking for the wisdom to discern truth from lies is an honorable request that I am certain the goddess will grant you."

"Thank you for your guidance Sango." Kagome said, standing up from her seat on the pallet. Sango rose after her and the two walked back into the main room of the temple.

"Remember priestess" Sango said, before leaving Kagome to her prayers, "The voice of Athena is the quietest of all. You must listen not only with your head, but with your heart and you will know her intentions."

"Thank you Sango" Kagome said, kneeling down at the feet of Athena.

_Mighty Pallas. I beseech you in all of your power to bestow on me the wisdom to tell the emperor's truth from the emperor's lies. I want to do all I can to obey Artemis and Zeus, but in order to do that I need my heart in the right place. Please grant me this wisdom and will do all I can to stop running from my destiny and marry the emperor._

Kagome knelt silently, waiting to hear Athena speak to her.

_My daughter._ She heard the soft, sweet voice in her ears. _I have heard your prayer and I am prepared to grant it. Whenever someone in the emperor's household tells you a lie, you will hear the lies in your ears, but the truth will ring in your heart. Go with faith priestess. Your goddess has big plans for you._

Kagome stood, thanking the goddess for her gift and leaving the temple, hurrying back to the palace to use her newly bestowed gift.

She entered the palace and the first person she saw was Inuyasha. He was walking towards her quickly, as if he had spent a while looking for her.

"Priestess! There you are!" he shouted, although she was standing close to him and would have heard him perfectly fine if he had talked.

"I am here Inuyasha. What do you need?"

"Sesshoumaru is angry with you. He has been looking for you for some time now" her ears heard and yet in her heart she heard the truth. _Sesshoumaru is concerned when he heard that you had disappeared. He thought something may have happened to you. But I enjoy how scared you are of me._

"I am sorry Inuyasha. I will go to him at once if you would care to accompany me."

"No, I have better things to do." _I want to keep my distance from you because you are my brothers. _

Kagome wondered about what Inuyasha's truth had meant, but she disregarded it and parted ways with Inuyasha and walked towards Sesshoumaru's chambers.

She walked through the maze of halls, finding Sesshoumaru's chambers with some ease. She knocked on the door and heard Sesshoumaru bid her enter.

"I am here Emperor Sesshoumaru, I am sorry if I have upset you. I told Miroku where I was going and I trusted that he would pass the information to you."

"Miroku did not tell me that you had left" _He did, but that doesn't matter. I wanted you here, you did not have my permission to go anywhere._

"I am sorry. I had gone to the temple of Athena to pray."

"And I trust you found all the answers you sought?" _You better have. For you will not be leaving again._

Kagome smiled, "Yes sire. All the answers I needed I now have."

"Well then I assume that means you will not need to leave again. You are no longer permitted to leave the palace unless I approve the trip and you travel with a guard. I will not risk loosing you."

Kagome listened, expecting her heart to say what Sesshoumaru's truth was, but nothing came. _He's telling the truth._ She thought; _this could prove to be harder than I thought._

_-----_

_Authoress' Note: There you go! I hope you enjoyed! Please reviewwwww!_


	6. 06

**Disclaimer: I only lay claim to the story.**

_Authoress' Note: _

_I just want to thank everyone for all of the positive feedback I've gotten. I started this story as a complete long shot and I'm so excited to see how popular it's becoming. So thank you all and enjoy the story!_

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Six_

"Priestess, You will join me for dinner tonight?" _I'm making it seem like you have a choice…you don't._

Kagome nodded, "I would be honored sire."

"Good. Dinner is in an hour." He looked at her attire, still dressed in her hunting clothes, "You should change into something more suitable for a meal."

"Of course sire, I will go now and will see you again for dinner." She said and turned from him to leave the room. She walked across the room and got to the doorway before Sesshoumaru called to her again.

"Priestess. The necklace I gave you. Wear it tonight." _I want Athens to know that you are mine._

Kagome nodded and left the room. She walked slowly back to her chambers, wanting to prolong going to dinner with the emperor as long as possible. Walking in a daze, she didn't realize Miroku walking toward her until she bumped into him.

"Priestess, is there something wrong? You seem very out of sorts."

"I'm sorry Miroku, I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"I was wondering what the worst that would happen to me if I decided to run away."

"You don't want to do that priestess. It would not be wise for either of us."

"Either of us? I don't understand Miroku."

"I am in charge of looking after you. If you were to run away, it would be both our necks and I don't think you could handle being responsible for my death as well. You are much too kind to put anyone else in danger."

Kagome frowned, he was right. She would put her own life on the line in an instant, knowing that in death she would be completely free of everything. But she knew that her soul would not rest and sail down the Styx if she had caused someone else harm. "That is true Miroku. It seems that in this short time you have come to know me very well."

"I like to think so priestess. And because I know you I am going to give you advice that I hope you take into consideration. Do not close your mind and heart off without giving the idea a chance. Try to open yourself to whatever will happen, let your destiny guide you. The fates have decided it, and it will be so. Give the emperor a chance to prove himself to you."

"I will try Miroku. I will try."

"Good. I will see you soon at dinner Kagome."

Kagome walked back to her room thinking about what Miroku had said. She knew that what both Sango and Miroku had said was true, but she didn't want to bring herself to surrender herself to her destiny just yet. She thought that if she held out a little longer than Artemis would relent and let her return to her life as a priestess. She held onto that glimmer of hope, although it was unfounded hope she treasured it nonetheless. She made her way slowly back to her room, thinking about what life would be like married to Emperor Sesshoumaru. She knew that life wouldn't be terrible, but yet compared to her perfect life in the temple she knew that she could not be completely satisfied.

She turned the knob and pushed her bedroom door open. She walked into the room and went to her armoire and began to look at the clothing that Sesshoumaru had given to her, bright colors and rich fabrics; Kagome was overwhelmed. She looked everything over, wondering what she could wear to the dinner. She knew that the emperor was expecting her to dress beautifully…and to her surprise she found herself wanting to impress him. She reached into the armoire and pulled out an emerald colored chiton. She slipped out of her burgundy one she had worn for the hunt and put the new emerald one on, she walked to her bed where the box containing the diamond necklace sat. She picked it up and opened the lid slowly, as if the necklace would escape and she fastened it around her neck. She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself, her hand rested softly on the necklace, in awe of how beautiful it was.

She brushed through her hair and wove a gold cord through her hair, holding her long black hair away from her face. She took a deep breath and looked at herself again. She no longer looked like Kagome, the simple priestess of Artemis – she looked like Kagome, the girl who could someday be an empress. The thought scared her and yet, she felt strangely ready.

There was a knock on the door and Miroku walked in.

"Kagome? Are you ready for dinner?" he asked walking in. He stopped dead in his tracks when she turned around. "You look…"

"Does it look bad? I knew it. I can change quickly if I need to." Kagome said quickly, scurrying around her room. Miroku caught her arm and stopped her. "Kagome, you look wonderful." He said, "Now let's go to dinner."

They walked down the hall together towards the main hall of the palace where the dinner was being held. On the way there, every servant's eyes were on Kagome as they walked and Kagome's face was red as she walked down the hall averting her eyes from those staring at her.

"Everyone's impressed" Miroku whispered into her ear and he heart heard more truth. _They never thought you were good enough for the emperor. _

"What were they expecting of me Miroku?" she whispered, "Did they think I would come dressed as a street urchin?"

"No, it's not that…it's just…"

"They don't think I'm good enough." She finished for him, and although he disagreed with her, she knew that what she said had been the truth. She knew that there were better, nobler people out that the emperor should be marrying – but knowing that they didn't want her to be there almost made her determined to stay. She knew she could make her place in the palace and with the nobles, once she resigned herself to her destiny that is.

She and Miroku entered the main hall and Sesshoumaru stood to acknowledge their entrance. Miroku took his place to the left of Sesshoumaru and Kagome stood confused until Sesshoumaru pulled out the chair to his right. She stood stunned for a moment before Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes slightly at her, and Kagome took that as a sign that she was making him upset and she quickly walked to the chair and sat down beside him.

As dinner was brought in, the large table sat in polite, separate conversations as Kagome sat quietly, picking at her food and feeling somewhat awkward amidst the group of strangers who appeared so comfortable with each other's company. Sesshoumaru looked over at her, ending his conversation was a woman seated next to Miroku, and surprisingly enough, felt sorry for Kagome as she sat silently to his right.

"Priestess, is there a problem?" _I am actually concerned with your happiness._

"No, sire. I am just uncomfortable in large crowds. Do not let me ruin your party sire. I will be fine."

Sesshoumaru then did something that surprised both of them immensely, he reached out and placed a hand atop Kagome's, meeting her eyes, "Priestess, you will not be fed to the sharks. It is uncomfortable now, but soon enough you will adjust to the court." _I plan on marrying you and do not want you to be uncomfortable in my court, I will do what it takes to make sure you are comfortable here. _

Kagome smiled and found herself blushing a light pink, "Thank you sire. I appreciate the interest you take in me."

"You are welcome. Although I am surprised that you would appreciate such favor considering it was the same favor that took you from your temple" He stated, reminding Kagome of something that hadn't really crossed her mind.

"Well, although that is the case, I'm glad that the interest keeps me from sitting at this large table in silence."

"Yes. I consider it the least I can do." He looked away from her , looking down at his hand still on top of hers, it was silent for a moment before he met her eyes again, taking a deep breath, feeling as though he was certain to make a fool of himself, "And priestess?"

"Yes sire?"

"You look beautiful tonight." He said, biting his tongue as he waited for her response, feeling like an idiot for showing a sliver of his real emotion with her, content up until this point to remain stoic and cold. She smiled at him and Sesshoumaru found himself oddly fond of her smile.

"Thank you sire, although I do not think I can compete with the women of your court. Truly I must look like an urchin compared to them." She said, self-doubt lacing her voice and making Sesshoumaru actually feel bad for her.

"Priestess, you underestimate yourself. Aphrodite cannot hold a candle to you at this moment." He said, as soon as the words left his mouth he slapped himself mentally, feeling as though he had just said the most stupid thing he could have.

He expected her to laugh at him, but instead Kagome blushed, "You shouldn't say such things sire, Aphrodite is a jealous goddess, I would not want ill to come of me because of your words."

Sesshoumaru thought for a moment and let a slight smile grace his face, "That is true priestess, and I will have to apologize to the goddess after the meal tonight, if you would care to accompany me to her temple to make the apology." _Truly I want more time with you. I am beginning to feel things for you I did not anticipate nor want._

"If it would keep me same from her jealously, I would happily accompany you. After this wonderful party of course." She said, flashing him another smile.

"You do not need to tell lies to me priestess; you are transparent. I know that you do not wish to be here."

"I'm afraid you've caught me sire. But I would not have the party ruined for your guests by taking you away from them before the time is over."

Sesshoumaru stood from his place on the table, immediately commanding the attention of the entire room.

"Thank you for your company tonight." His voice immediately returning to the icy emperor voice Kagome had almost gotten used to, "I have to take my leave now however. I seem to have offended a goddess and now I must travel to her temple to make my apology." He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Kagome smirking slightly, almost hating the fact that he found joy in the ability to make her smile.

He tentatively extended his hand to Kagome almost afraid to show his court that he was capable of having any sense of affection towards another human being. She looked at him for a second before taking his hand and allowing him to help her from her seat.

As they walked from the palace, Sesshoumaru sent away his carriage and told Kagome that they would walk to the temple, to show even more humility to Aphrodite. Kagome held in a augh at his exaggeration of the offense and told him that they shouldn't have left the party for something of this sort.

They arrived at the temple and walked the steps to the main room of the temple where the beautiful statue of Aphrodite stood, smiling down at her worshippers. Sesshoumaru walked from Kagome's side to kneel before the statue in prayer. As she watched him pray she looked at Aphrodite's smiling eyes. _Goddess, if this is right, please send me a sign to tell me so._ She prayed quickly, bowing her head. As Sesshoumaru stood and walked back to her, she looked up to the statue one last time and as she looked at Aphrodite's form she saw a light shine from the heart of the goddess and although she was not expecting a sign so soon, she knew what the goddess was telling her.

Sesshoumaru reached his hand back to her and she barely paused before she put her hand in his. He led her down the stairs of the temple and when they reached the street Kagome stopped and looked up at the stars. Sesshoumaru walked over next to her and looked up as well. The beauty of the stars mixed with the sign from Aphrodite and the slight shows of affection from the emperor, she knew what she had to do.

"Sire?" She asked, not taking her eyes away from the sky.

"Yes priestess?"

_I have to stop running. There is no sense trying to control what I have no control over._ "I have decided not to fight any longer. I will marry you."

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_Authoress' Note: please don't hate me for having this happen. Just trust me please!_

_PS. Classes are now over! So I have so much time to write! And I am officially a sister of Delta Gamma so no more pledging!_

_PPS. Please review!_


	7. 07

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: thanks so much for your amazing reviews!! They really make my day! Enjoy this chapter and please review!_

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Six_

They stood alone in the dark streets of Athens. The only light flowed from the candles of the Temple of Aphrodite. Sesshoumaru walked back towards Kagome, thinking that the distance between them caused him to hear her incorrectly.

"Priestess?" he asked, "What did you say?"

_I could change my mind…he didn't hear me correctly. _He was standing in front of her, waiting for her to answer him. She looked up at him nervously, "I…I have decided that I will marry you." She said finally, hoping that she had made the right choice.

In that moment she swore she saw something change in his eyes. Although they were still somewhat emotionless and icy as before, they appeared almost…happy.

"You will not be sorry." He said simply. "We will be married at once."

"At…once? Sire, how soon is "at once" if I may ask." She asked, suddenly nervous and regretting her decision to agree to marriage.

"Within the week. We must tell the court." He said, putting on his emperor voice again, the voice that told Kagome that he was now talking about business, and he was talking as the emperor, not as her future husband or the man that he was when they were alone. She nodded, but did not get a chance to respond to him before he began to walk back to the palace in long fast strides, leaving her to almost run to keep up with him. He finally stopped at the stairs that lead into the palace, pausing only to take her hand in his as he nearly pulled her up the stairs. The party, that didn't slow at all since they had left, came to a screeching halt as they re-entered the room.

Kagome turned a bright red as every eye in the room were suddenly on her. She looked down, seeing her hand still within Sesshoumaru's hand and blushed even redder.

"The goddess has been forgiving tonight. Kagome has accepted my proposal for marriage. We will be married by the end of the week and Athens will have an empress again." Although he was using emperor voice, Kagome found herself picking up on little nuances in Sesshoumaru's voice than gave away the possibility that he was pleased with her decision more than he chose to let on.

There were several cheers from the crowd as sounds of people's truths flooded her head.

_She's not worthy of being empress._

_Emperor Sesshoumaru should be marrying someone of his rank, not a temple priestess; he's much too good for that._

_She doesn't deserve him._

_I will never call her empress. _

_What a fool Emperor Sesshoumaru is being._

Kagome held her head in her hands as all the negative thoughts flowed through her mind as the lying courtiers offered Sesshoumaru their congratulations. Sesshoumaru looked over to Kagome, knowing that she was in pain but not understanding why. He excused himself from the crowd and led Kagome out of the mail hall and back through the maze and to her bedroom. He pushed the door open and sat her down on the couch, sitting down next to him.

"Explain yourself Priestess. Why do you hold your head like you are in pain?"

Kagome refused to look him in the eye, knowing that in the same night she had sparked some semblance of happiness in him, she had made him angry. "I apologize sire. I do not know what's come over me."

"Priestess, do not lie to me."

"Sire, just trust me when I tell you that your courtiers are lying to you. They do not want me as their empress."

"How do you know this?"

"I was given a gift sire. A gift that, as I tell you about it I know that I will most likely lose it. Athena gave me the ability to discern truth from lies. And as someone lies to me, I hear what they truly mean inside."

"Do not lie to me priestess, do you take me as a fool? Athena is not your patron goddess, so then why would she bestow such a gift upon you?"

"Because I didn't want to marry you. I thought you were lying to me, I thought you were false in your affections and I wanted to know that you were sincere. I pleaded with Athena to give me the wisdom to tell the difference."

Sesshoumaru got off of the couch and took several steps away from Kagome. He stood at a distance, his eyes still boring through her. "Priestess, I don't know what to do about this."

"Believe me. You need to believe me. I'm not lying to you sire, I have no need to lie to you. I have accepted your proposal. I am ready to marry you. What good would lying to you be?" she pleaded, hoping that he would see the truth in her words. She sat on the couch, leaning toward him, restraining herself from walking towards him. They stayed like that, locked in a gaze of silent rage. Neither of them knowing what to say or do, they stayed like that until Miroku broke their stare.

"Sire! Priestess!" he said, "There is a man from Thebes here and he says that he must talk to you about Kagome at once!"

Sesshoumaru promptly transferred his angry gaze from Kagome to Miroku. "Can you not see that we are busy Miroku?"

"I'm sorry sire, but he said that it was urgent. I did not mean to interrupt you, please accept my apologies."

Sesshoumaru brushed off what Miroku had said, not really listening or caring about what he had to say. "Where is he?" he asked with a shortened temper.

"Waiting in your antechamber. I am truly sorry for the interruption."

"Hn." Sesshoumaru said, walking briskly out of the room without so much as a "goodbye" to Kagome or Miroku.

Kagome put her face in her hands, too frustrated to deal with anything else. Miroku walked over to her and sat down on the couch beside her.

"What is wrong with Emperor Sesshoumaru priestess?"

Kagome scoffed and turned away from him, "I don't care. He's just a selfish monster, just like I always knew he was. He won't even believe me about something that is obviously true."

"I wouldn't think that two adults would be so childish."

"Miroku, I'm 18. I'm allowed to be childish."

Miroku shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder, "He has a temper Kagome. He loses control of his emotions and doesn't think before acting, but he is not untrue in his affections. He cares for you Kagome, and just because he loses view of what is most important, it doesn't change how he feels. You just need to know that Kagome. And once you know that, everything will become easier."

Kagome nodded, she didn't want to accept that Miroku was right, but she knew that he was. She stood up off of the couch and straightened her chiton.

"I'm going to go see him and apologize for being so foolish."

Miroku nodded, "That would be wise. I'll escort you there; I am going that way myself."

"Thank you Miroku. You are always there with the right advice when I need it. I might have gone crazy without you here."

Miroku laughed as they left the room, "We live in the palace with royalty Kagome, and we are all crazy."

------

Sesshoumaru stormed into his chambers where he saw the man from Thebes sitting on a sofa.

"I do hope this was important sir, I was quite busy when you called for me."

The man stood and walked to Sesshoumaru, "I apologize for the inconvenience but I assure you that this is of the utmost importance."

"I am listening; make your words brief, I do not have the time to listen to you all night."

"I have been searching for a girl for many years now. She was lost at sea when she was very young and was said to have washed up here in Athens. Ever since I was charged by my king to find her and bring her back to Thebes."

"Pardon my lack of interest sir, but what is so special about this girl?"

"She is the princess Emperor Sesshoumaru. The king wants her back dearly and is willing to give anything to find her; I myself have been searching for three years."

"This is all interesting sir, but what does this have to do with _my_ priestess?"

"I believe that _your_ priestess is the princess of Thebes. And if it is proved that she is the princess I will have no choice but to bring her back to Thebes with me and restore her to her throne."

"How exactly will you be able to determine whether or not she is this princess?"

"I will observe her and then I will be able to determine if she is the princess that has been missing. I am simply requesting your permission to stay in your court and observe the girl."

"Permission granted on two conditions."

"Yes sire?"

"You will not interfere with the plans for our wedding."

The man nodded, "Of course not sire. And the second condition?"

"She does not know who you are or why you are here. You are not permitted to talk directly to her."

The man thought for a moment, before realizing that he would not sway on either of these points, he had no choice but to agree. "Yes sire. She will know nothing of my business here."

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_Authoress' Note: I hope you liked the chapter! Please review!!!_


	8. 08

**Disclaimer: I only lay claim to my plot.**

_Authoress' Note: well since I didn't get to give you guys a Christmas present yesterday I decided to give you guys this and hope that you all had a good Christmas anyway. Well, enjoy!_

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Eight_

Kagome knocked on the door and it opened to reveal a short man that she had never seen before. He bowed his head at her and hurried past her, writing something on his pad of paper as he did so.

"Come in priestess" she heard Sesshoumaru's voice call and she stepped forward into the room. She saw Sesshoumaru sitting on a divan in one of the back rooms and she walked toward him, taking a seat on another sofa across from him.

"Is there something you needed priestess?" he asked in an obviously annoyed tone, attempting to frighten her, although he knew better than to think she was frightened of him.

"Yes sire. I came to apologize for my actions. I acted out and I shouldn't have. I would be honored if you would forgive me."

Sesshoumaru was surprised by her actions, up until this point she had been defiant in all of her actions, always standing against him. Her sudden submission was both welcome and unwanted. "Priestess, this is unlike you."

"Unlike me? Sire, I'm afraid I don't follow you."

"Apologizing? We have fought nearly every day you have been here. Never once did you apologize. Why is it now that you choose to do so?"

"Do you…not want me to apologize to you sire? Then in that case I withdraw my apology. I didn't believe I had done wrong in the first place, Miroku told me that I should apologize to you and I was merely doing as he suggested. If you don't mind I will take my leave now and will see you in the morning." She stood and walked towards the doorway. He allowed her to walk to the main door before he called her back.

"Priestess! Come back."

Kagome turned with a grin on her face, "Glad to see you changed your mind." She walked back to the room and took her seat once more.

Sesshoumaru rang a bell and a servant girl appeared. She bowed low, avoiding eye contact with him, "What is it you need sire?"

"Wine, two glasses and-" he looked to Kagome, "What do you want priestess?"

"Want?"

"To eat, priestess, what do you want to eat?"

Kagome shook her head, "I don't need anything sire. I'm fine."

"Priestess, it would offend me greatly if you do not get something to eat."

"A pomegranate."

Sesshoumaru nodded and turned back to the servant girl, who still refused to meet his gaze, "Wine, two glasses, a pomegranate and dates"

The girl bowed and hurried from the room, knowing what would become of her if the emperor decided she had taken too long. She returned moments later with a tray and placed it on the table between them before bowing again and hurried from the room. Sesshoumaru leaned forward and poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her across the table.

"Thank you" she took a sip as Sesshoumaru poured a glass for herself. "Dionysus surely made this wine himself. How did you come across it?"

"Priestess, flattery will not get you anywhere with me. Although it is openly appreciated." He said and Kagome would have sworn she saw the emperor crack a smile, although she knew that he would never admit to.

She stood from her sofa, "If you excuse me sire, Morpheus is quite insistent this night, if you'll allow it I shall take my leave."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "If you need to sleep, far be it from me to withhold that from you. Tomorrow we will meet to begin discussing the wedding."

"Of course, sire. Happy dreams."

"And to you priestess"

Kagome nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Sesshoumaru looked after her and through the windows alongside the door he could see the man from Thebes watching her every move. He did not want that man so close to _his_ priestess, but if it would keep Thebes happy, that in itself would be worth it. The relationship between Thebes and Athens were always tense, and Sesshoumaru didn't want anything to happen to disturb the balance.

_What if the priestess __is__ the princess? She'll have to go to Thebes. I can't have that happen. I've worked this hard to keep her here to lose her now. _

Sesshoumaru shook the thoughts from his head. _Where is this coming from? She's just a girl._

Sesshoumaru looked out the window to see a star streak across the sky, he looked to the statue of Zeus that sat in the corner of his bedroom and it seemed to have a subtle glow to it.

"What is it you're telling my Zeus? Is there something I don't know?" he asked, staring at the statue.

There was a crash of thunder and the lamps dimmed and Sesshoumaru saw that there was a scroll sitting on Zeus' feet. He hurried over to the statue and unrolled the scroll. There was only one sentence written on the scroll.

_**She is not just a girl.**_

"What does this mean?" he asked, reading the sentence over and over again. "Does it mean she's the princess? 'Not just a girl' what could it possibly be?"

"Sire" Miroku said, walking into the room, "Is everything all right in here, the lights almost went out and there was the thunder…"

"I'm fine Miroku. It was Zeus." He said; rolling the scroll across the floor, hitting the priest's feet.

He reached down and picked the scroll up, looking at what was written on the paper. He looked at the statue of Zeus, then at the scroll and then at the emperor.

"What does this mean sire?"

Sesshoumaru looked at his friend, "I was hoping that you would be able to tell me."

Miroku shrugged, "Kagome?"

"That's what I assume. Who else would it be?"

"Good point. But what could this possibly mean?"

"I wish I could help you sire, but I feel this is something Father Zeus wants you to find out on your own. I must now take my leave of you emperor. I will see you in the morning."

"Good night Miroku." he said and Miroku left the room, leaving the door semi-open as he left the room.

Sesshoumaru stood up, tucked the scroll under his arm and walked into his room, closing and locking the door behind him. Climbing into his four poster bed, he placed the scroll on the table beside his bed and pulled the curtains closed around him. The words of the scroll cycled in his mind until Morpheus finally tightened his grip on him and he fell asleep.

------

"Priestess!" Kagome was both shocked by the noise and blinded by the sun as the servant woke up her up and opened the blinds.

"What?" she asked groggily.

"Emperor Sesshoumaru has requested your presence in his chambers. NOW."

"I need to get changed. I need to brush my hair. I cannot go see him like this."

"Priestess, I was told to wake you up and send you to his chambers. Go, now."

Kagome slipped her slippers on and hurried from her room towards Sesshoumaru's chambers. She attempted to straighten her hair and clothes as she walked, feeling awkward appearing before the emperor after just getting out of bed. She knocked on his door and it was almost instantaneously opened by a servant. She was herded into the back room where she had sat with him the night before.

She sat down on the divan and waited for Sesshoumaru to come in. he entered the room after a few moments and looked twice when he saw Kagome, still in her sleep clothes.

"Good morning priestess"

"Yes, it would be a good morning, had your servants permitted me to change into something befitting coming to see you. But because that did not happen I would have to say that it is not a good morning."

"Please, sheath your claws for the time being. We have more important things to deal with. We will be married in three days time and there is a lot to be done before then."

"Three days?! Sire, how can that be?"

_Because there is a man from Thebes trying to take you away. And the sooner I marry you, the sooner he loses power over me…and you._ "Do not question my decisions priestess; you agreed to marry me, did you not?"

"Yes I did."

"That is what I thought. Now, your fitting for your wedding dress begin in ten minutes in your bedchambers and after that I will need you to come back here."

Kagome nodded stoically, "Of course sire. Whatever you say. I don't want to be late; I'll take my leave now and see you in a short while."

Sesshoumaru nodded and Kagome left the room and began walking sleepily back to her own chambers. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man whom she had seen the night before leaving the emperor's chambers.

"Excuse me?" she asked him, evidently startling him.

"Yes, miss?" he asked. _If Emperor Sesshoumaru catches me talking to her, I'll be done for. I need to get away from her to watch her without her knowing._

"Who are you? I've only just seen you for the first time yesterday."

"I am the ambassador from Thebes, miss. I'm just here for a visit for a few days. But you seem to be heading somewhere so I will take my leave. Have a good day miss."

"And you as well." she said and watched the man walk away, _he's rather odd. But I suppose I have more important things to deal with. Like…my wedding._

-----

_Authoress' Note: I hope you enjoy! Please review! Pretty please!_


	9. 09

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha. But in my world I own Miroku…**

_Authoress' Note: thanks for all the reviews! They make me so happy! Well, I've been researching ancient Greek weddings and man, were they complicated. I'm going to try and make it as historically correct as I can with what I have, one thing I will have trouble with is the fact that Kagome doesn't have parents. The brides parents play a big part in the wedding (which in ancient Greece was a three day thing) but I'm gonna get around that. So yeah, enjoy and review please!_

* * *

**Living on a Prayer**  
_Chapter Nine_

Kagome opened the door to her room to find the main chamber filled with people, all clamoring for her. They ushered her up onto a stool and began to wrap fabric around her. Pins were stuck everywhere and Kagome stayed completely still to avoid being stabbed. She looked over to the right where she saw a couple older women working on a large, intricate veil. She could see how beautifully embroidered and beaded the veil was and she struggled to see what the women were adding to it, but she was unable to tell from where she was standing.

Once the fabric around her was done being pinned it was taken rather unceremoniously off of her, not even attempting to protect her from the pins. She winced in pain as the pins scraped across her skin, but the dressmakers didn't seem to care.

"You can step off of the stool" someone said to her and she stepped off of the small stool and sat down on her sofa to watch everyone work. The speed at which the women sewed amazed her, it seemed almost inhuman. She stood and walked over to the women beading the veil and leaned over to admire their work. "Surely Athena favors you to bless you with such talent and dexterity." She said warmly and the women simply smiled at her and continued their work, which Kagome could now see clearly. The veil, which already had embroidered and beaded flowers on it, now, had a distinctive pattern of the moon and all of her phases around the border, which made Kagome smile.

A servant girl came in to change the linens on Kagome's bed; she pulled the covers away and pulled the sheets into the empty basket she carried.

"Priestess?" she asked and Kagome turned around to see her holding a small square of white fabric up with two fingers as if it was diseased. "This was in your bed; do you want me to dispose of it?"

Kagome hurried to the girl and snatched the fabric out of her hand, "No!" she yelled, commanding the attention of everyone in the room. "I mean, no" she said much more softly, "This is my most treasured possession. It was the only thing I have from life before the temple. Mother Kaede says when she found me wandering the streets I was carrying this, so I like to keep it close to me." She explained and the girl took the rest of the sheets of the bed before turning back to Kagome.

"I'm sorry that I tried to throw it away priestess. I didn't realize its value." She apologized.

Kagome smiled at the girl, "It isn't a problem, you didn't know. Thank you for your hard work."

The girl nodded and left the room, leaving Kagome once more with the room full of dressmakers. She settled herself on the sofa and prepared herself for the long hours ahead of her.

* * *

"Excuse me, miss?" the man from Thebes asked the servant girl as she walked by.

"Yes, sir. Is there something you need?" she asked, stopping and walking over to the man.

"That piece of fabric that the priestess covets, what is it?"

"She told me that it was the only thing she has from the days before she was in the temple."

"Thank you for the information." He said and the girl continued to the laundry room. The man wrote the note about the fabric on his pad and looked into the priestess' bedroom where the dressmakers were hustling and bustling around her.

_I need to get that blanket_ he thought to himself_ it's the only thing that ties her to her past. This is important._

* * *

Sesshoumaru sat in his study with Miroku, going over the plans for the nights wedding ceremony. Normally that night there would be a feast in the home of the bride's father, but because of Kagome's obvious lack of parents he was trying to figure out what to do about it. He knew that the wedding feast needed to take place so he took it upon himself to host the feast on her behalf and the kitchen staff was already hard at work preparing the food for the night's festivities.

"Sire, who will be handing her over at the unveiling tomorrow night?" Miroku asked as Sesshoumaru was going over everything in his head.

He shook his head, "I don't know Miroku. I know that it will be painful enough for her to go to the temple tonight to make her sacrifice, so I would not ask the head priestess of Artemis, as I was originally planning to. She needs to be given by someone, but I do not know who to ask." He racked his brain and then it dawned on him, "Miroku…you are a priest, of the same station of Kagome. You will be the one who will give Kagome away."

Miroku nodded, "If that is what you wish sire."

"Yes. Now we also need to find an amphithales and a numpheutria…" Sesshoumaru said, letting his thoughts trail off. (_A/n: an amphithales is a child who has both parents living who leads the ceremonial precession on the second night of the wedding ceremony; it is supposed to symbolize the future child of the couple. And a numpheutria is the woman who assists the bride on the second night of the wedding ceremony. I'm trying to make this as real as possible so when I use terms like that I will be sure to define them._)

"I will ask Kagome about a numpheutria, she might have someone to ask. As for an amphithales…I'll take care of it sire. You don't need to worry."

Sesshoumaru looked at his advisor with a skeptical look, "Of course I need to worry Miroku. There is so much going on that I need to worry about. The man from Thebes, the scroll from Father Zeus…the wedding…"

Miroku stood up, "if you grant me leave sire, I will go and talk to Kagome regarding a numpheutria."

"You're free to go" he said, waving him from the room.

"Then I'll leave you with your thoughts. May Father Zeus clear your mind sire."

"Thank you Miroku" he said as Miroku left the room, leaving the door ajar as he did so. Miroku walked down the hall to Kagome's familiar door. He walked into the room, seeing Kagome lying on her bed as the dressmakers continued to work. The dressmakers acknowledged his presence as he entered the room and walked to the bed and sat down beside Kagome, causing her to jump up in surprise.

"Miroku!" she exclaimed, scrambling into a sitting position. She was still in her night clothes and her hair was a mess. She quickly tried to fix her hair to look presentable as she waited for Miroku to tell her why she had come.

"Priestess, as you know, the first part of the wedding ceremony is tonight."

"Yes, I know. The feast. What is Emperor Sesshoumaru doing about that? I don't have a father to host the feast."

"He has taken care of it, you don't need to worry. What I have come to ask you about is a numpheutria."

"A bridal assistant?" she asked.

"Yes, it is necessary that you have one in order to keep with the wedding ceremony. Is there anyone you could think to ask? One of your fellow priestesses at the temple?"

Kagome shook her head, "I have severed my life as a priestess, it will be hard enough for me to go there tonight to sacrifice, I couldn't possibly ask one of Artemis' priestesses."

"Is there anyone else? Someone you talked to? Someone you confide in? Anyone at all?"

Kagome thought for a second, "Sango. I want Sango to be my numpheutria."

"Who's Sango priestess? Someone who works here?"

"No. she's the head priestess of Athena. She gave me better advice then anyone I've talked to and I want her to be the one who assists me tomorrow night."

"Very well, I will go to the temple and request her presence here tomorrow night. In the meantime, you need to bathe and get dressed so you can go and make your sacrifices."

Miroku left the room and Kagome took a towel out of her chest of drawers and walked into the bathing room. A servant drew her bath and Kagome stripped down and sank into the warm water. She tipped her head back and wet her hair and let the steam relax her. There was a knock on the door and one of the embroiderers came into the room, carrying the veil.

"Priestess? Would you like to see the veil? We've finished it."

"Oh course." She leaned out of the tub, careful to avoid exposing herself to the older woman. She looked at the veil and its intricate details. The entire veil was embroidered and beaded in flowers and she could see what the women had added around the borders and that was the moon, representing her as a daughter of Artemis.

"This is the empress' veil. The emperor's mother wore this during her unveiling as well as the emperor before her. The first empress who wore this wore it simply, and plain. Emperor Sesshoumaru's mother added the flowers and for you we have added the moon" the woman explained and Kagome looked at it in awe.

"It's gorgeous. I love it."

The woman smiled, "I'm glad to hear it. I will leave you to yourself now." She said, excusing herself from the room.

Once the door closed behind her Kagome pulled herself out of the tub and began to dry herself off and she reached for the plain white chiton she had brought in with her to change into. She tied a gold cord around her waist and wound one through her hair to hold it up. She put the towel in a place to dry and walked out of the bathing room. When she entered the main chamber of her room she found it empty. Her new chiton and veil were laid across the sofa for her and Kagome ran her hand across them as if she would break them. She walked over to her armoire and took out what she had been saving for her sacrifice to Artemis. She then gathered her other two sacrifices and wrapped Artemis'' sacrifice around them. She tucked them all under her arm and put her gold sandals on before leaving her room to walk to see the emperor.

She reached the emperor's door and knocked softly on the door as always. When the door was not opened immediately for her she knocked again, a little harder, still no response. With one last hard knock she began to turn away from the door until she heard it open behind her.

"Priestess, come in" Emperor Sesshoumaru said as he opened the door. Kagome turned around and walked into his chambers. She sat down on a sofa immediately inside of the door and watched Sesshoumaru walk into what she assumed was his bed room. She placed her sacrifice on her lap and waited patiently for Sesshoumaru to be finished getting ready.

"What are you bringing to sacrifice?" he asked her from the other room, "You are sacrificing in three temples tonight, are you not?"

"Yes, I am. And I suppose you will need to wait until we reach the temples to see. I don't think it right for you to find out before the goddesses."

For a second she thought she heard the emperor laugh, "Of course priestess. Forgive me."

"Of course…sire." She said, wondering why the emperor's icy façade seemed to be melting away. He seemed…cheerful.

He came from his room and Kagome could see something under his arm, his sacrifice she assumed. He looked at her and for the first time Kagome could see warmth in his eyes, "Are you ready priestess?"

Kagome practically jumped from her seat, "Yes, of course. I'm ready." she blurted out and a smirk came across the emperor's face.

"No need to be jumpy priestess. Let's go."

They walked together to the temple of Hera, where Kagome would make her first sacrifice. Many onlookers watched as they watched the pair walk down the streets, all of them eager for their emperor to marry. They walked up many steps into the main room of the temple. The temple of Hera was much more intricate and ornate than the simple temple of Artemis that Kagome was used to.

She knelt down in from of the large statue of Hera, Sesshoumaru remaining a few paces behind her as she took out her sacrifice. She took out the small square blanket that the servant girl had almost thrown away earlier that morning. She laid it at Hera's feet and turned to look at Sesshoumaru.

"This is the only thing I have from my life before the temple. Mother Kaede said I had it with me when she found me wandering the streets." She explained to him and then turned back to Hera.

"Goddess Hera, I sacrifice this item to you, as a show that I shall be a loyal and good bride to my future husband, just as you are to Father Zeus. I give you this, a symbol of my past so I can only look forward into my future." She said aloud and then reached to her side where a priestess was standing holding a small torch. Kagome took the torch in hand and set the piece of fabric ablaze. She handed the torch back and remained kneeling in front of the statue until all that remained of her past was ashes.

She stood and turned back to Sesshoumaru, "I am ready." She said and they left the temple together, Kagome sending one more glace the way of Hera until she was no longer in sight.

The walk to the temple of Aphrodite was longer than Kagome had remembered but after a few moments of walking, Aphrodite's towering statue came into view. Walking up the stairs Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru out of the corner of her eye, trying to tell what he was feeling. This time they knelt in front of the statue together as they both laid their sacrifices down.

Kagome placed the lute at the feet of Aphrodite and said her prayer before Sesshoumaru placed his sacrifice with hers.

"Goddess Aphrodite, I give you my prized possession, my lute. I give you this in exchange for your blessings on this marriage, may it be filled with love."

Sesshoumaru glanced at Kagome before placing his sacrifice on the altar beside hers. Her took a scroll of parchment from beside him and laced it through the strings of Kagome's lute.

"Goddess, this is a letter; a letter written to me by my mother while she was dying. It is a letter full of hope and joy and wishes for the future. This letter gives me comfort, but I know that I will find that comfort in my future wife as well, so I now give it to you. I pray that you bless us with a fruitful marriage."

The priestess handed Sesshoumaru the torch and Kagome placed her hands around his as they lit the sacrifice together. The priestess took the torch and watched the couple kneel in front of their sacrifices, staring into the fire. The paper curled and turned to ash as the wooden frame of the lute smoldered. Sesshoumaru found his hand moving from his side and taking Kagome's hand in it. As the fire died, Kagome pulled her hand from his and turned to stand. Sesshoumaru stood up and helped Kagome up and they walked from the temple to their last stop, the one Kagome had been dreading.

As the temple of Artemis came into view, Kagome's emotions took over.

"I can't go there" she said softly, beginning to sob quietly.

Sesshoumaru placed a comforting hand on Kagome's shoulder, "Kagome, you must make your sacrifice to Artemis. You will be fine; you are stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Kagome nodded, smiling at the fact that he had called her by her name for the first time since she had been in the palace. They walked to the temple and Kagome stopped as Sesshoumaru began climbing the steps. He was halfway up before he realized that Kagome was not beside him. He turned around and saw her standing about five stairs behind him, frozen. He reached his hand out to her and she tentatively took it and walked up to join him. he looked her in the eye and saw her fear, but a reassuring smile was all she needed to keep her going and then they were in the temple, the first time Kagome had been there since she moved into the palace.

Avoiding eye contact with any of her fellow priestess', she took the torch herself and walked to the familiar statue of Artemis. Sesshoumaru watched her carefully as she took out her last sacrifice and laid it at the feet of her goddess. He couldn't see what it was she was sacrificing but when she began to speak to her goddess it was clear what she was giving up.

"My goddess, I surrender myself to your will and see that my destiny is fulfilled. This robe is the robe of a temple priestess, and the only thing remaining of my life in your temple. I give it back to you as a symbol of my willingness to fulfill every request you make of me." She lowered the flame to the light cotton fabric and the fire jumped to life as it burned the robe. From where Sesshoumaru was standing he could see one tear fall from Kagome's eye and into the fire. As the fire died down Kagome doused the fire and turned swiftly and exited the temple without waiting for Sesshoumaru. She hurried down the temple as Sesshoumaru picked up his pace to catch her, which he did at the bottom of the stairs.

"Priestess, wait" he said and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"I'm not a priestess anymore sire. Please call me Kagome" she said without turning to look at him. "We need to get back to the palace sire; the feast will be starting soon."

"Yes, it should be starting soon. Let's make our way back." They walked side by side until they reached the palace. They walked the halls and stopped in front of Kagome's chambers.

"Do you need to change before the dinner tonight?"

Kagome shook her head, "No, I don't."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "All right. Then we will make our way to the main hall, the guests should be assembling by now."

"Yes sire." She said softly, he knew that by sacrificing in the temple of Artemis her spirit had been broken and he didn't like seeing her that way. She was dour and her blue eyes didn't light up as Sesshoumaru was used to, they were blank – like her face, not even a smile could be seen. She began walking towards the main hall, not realizing that Sesshoumaru was not walking with her.

"Kagome"

She turned and looked back at Sesshoumaru, standing in the middle of the hallway, staring at her. "What?" she asked softly.

"Smile." He said simply and in a few strides he was past her and on his way to dinner. She hurried her pace and caught up with him as the doors of the main hall opened, revealing large tables and many, many people sitting around them. They walked to the head of the main table and everyone stood as they entered the room. As Sesshoumaru gave everyone permission to sit, he thanked everyone for coming and then the food was brought in.

Kagome and Sesshoumaru sat down and began eating and talking to those sitting around them. Miroku, who was seated next to Kagome rather than Sesshoumaru, told her that Sango had agreed to be her numpheutria for the next day's ceremony. Having heard that, Kagome's mood began to lighten as she talked to those around her and ate happily; no longer scared or worried about what the next day would bring.

* * *

_Authoress' Note: that one was nice and long wasn't it? I know that the traditional sacrifices in ancient Greece were animal sacrifices, but wedding sacrifices were personal items, usually items symbolizing a past. The sacrifice to Hera was made because Hera was said to be the perfect bride and making a sacrifice to her makes the bride seem "perfect", the sacrifice to Aphrodite is pretty obvious…love. And the last sacrifice is made to Artemis as a way of releasing oneself of maidenhood and relinquishing virginity and all that jazz._

_All in all I hope you liked it and are ready for the next day of the wedding ceremony when I get around to writing it but until then I hope this ties you over. If you have any questions about anything, ask them in a review and I'll get back to you ASAP._

_PS. the thing with the guy from Thebes wanting Kagome's blankie thing is totally relevant, it'll come around next chapter so don't be confused or anything. _

_Please review and make me happy!_


	10. 10

**Disclaimer: I only own my plot.**

_Authoress' Note: Once again, thanks so much for the reviews! That makes me incredibly happy! The idea for this chapter struck me randomly last night so I'm really excited to write it. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

**Living on a Prayer**  
_Chapter Ten (double digits!)_

Kagome woke up the next morning apprehensive and nervous. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was pointless. She climbed out of bed and walked out of her room to find Miroku. She navigated the halls better than she had earlier until she reached the main courtyard where the priests were at that time. She walked out barefoot onto the sandy yard and walked towards Miroku, who was standing separate from the rest of the priests.

"Kagome, you're up." He said when he saw her walking towards him. "Did you get out of bed and come see me? You aren't even wearing shoes."

"I know. I'm just…" she let her thought trail off as she stared at her bare feet, afraid to disclose anything to Miroku for fear that it would travel back to Sesshoumaru. She kicked at the sand and dirt at her feet, not knowing what else to say and waiting for Miroku to say something.

"Nervous? Don't be. Everything is going to be fine. I will call for Sango and your amphithales to prepare for the baths. Go and wait in the bathhouse and they will join you shortly." He said, pointing her towards the door to the palace and giving her a little push. "A bath will probably relax you a little, and that's just what you need."

Kagome nodded and began walking out of the courtyard, "Thank you Miroku." she said, turning back and smiling at the priest. She walked out of the courtyard and back into the palace. She walked down another series of hallways until she reached the door that would take her outside to the bathhouse. Using all of her strength she pushed the large door aside to find a small child already filling the steaming bath with water, while humming to herself happily.

As she approached the girl noticed her presence and turned and smiled at her. "Are you the empress?" she asked cheerfully.

Kagome smiled at the child's innocence and knelt down beside her, "Not yet. Who are you?"

"I am the…amph- I can't say it, it's a long name the priest told me. But I am getting the water for your bath just like the nice priest told me to do. And then later I'm going to be in the ceremony. I'm really excited for that empress." She said with a toothy grin. "The water should be ready soon and then you can have your bath before you go to get married." She said, giving Kagome another big, excited smile.

"I told you already, I'm not the empress yet." Kagome said laughing at the child's enthusiasm. "And thank you so much, you are doing a wonderful job." She said as the girl nodded and left the house with her large vase. She came back into the bathhouse a few moments later with the large vase filled with fresh spring water and poured it into the large tub, filling the bathtub the rest of the way. She placed the vase she was carrying water in beside the tub and bowed with another smile before excusing herself and running out of the bathhouse.

Kagome sat by the tub's edge and dipped her foot in to test the water, finding it to be the perfect temperature. She heard the door open and close again, Kagome turned to see Sango walking into the bathhouse, and bundled up in her arms were Kagome veil, chiton and sandals. Sango placed the clothing on a table and walked over to Kagome.

"How are you feeling this morning priestess?" she asked warmly, sitting down beside her on the tub's edge.

Kagome shook her head, holding back the tears that sat on the edge of her eyes, "No, not priestess. Just Kagome. I'm not a priestess anymore…I gave my robes in sacrifice to Artemis last night. I'll never be a priestess again."

Sango put her arm around Kagome's shoulders, "Don't act so sullen Kagome, there is no room for tears today; the Gods have great plans for you and they start today. This is a happy day."

Kagome stood and walked away from the tub, "I am trying Sango, believe me I am trying to be happy."

Sango stood up and followed Kagome over to the table where she was running her hands over the clothing that Sango had brought. Sango could see the sadness in Kagome's eyes as her fingers moved across the beaded moons on the veil. Sango walked over to Kagome and placed a caring hand on Kagome's shoulder, "There is no sense trying to put this off, it will be over before you know it, trust me; and it will not be anywhere as bad as I know you think it is going to be. Everything will be fine and you and Emperor Sesshoumaru will have a happy marriage, he deeply cares for you Kagome, you have to know that."

Kagome shrugged, "I suppose. He does do a lot to make sure I am happy. I know that he will do all he can to make me happy once we are married. There's just something in me that is resisting. I don't know Sango, I'm so confused."

Sango shook her head, "Kagome, let's not think about such unpleasant things. Now get into the tub before the servants let the water cool." She said, coaxing Kagome towards the tub.

Sango and Kagome both disrobed and climbed into the steaming hot tub, in any other ceremonial pre-wedding bathing there would be a multitude of women accompanying the bride in the baths, but Kagome was reminded once again of her utter aloneness. She bathed and rinsed and laid back into the water for a while to relax, breathing in the soothing scents of the bath salts. After a while Sango got out of the tub and redressed, leaving Kagome to relax for a moment longer. Once Sango had laid out Kagome's clothes she called her out of the tub.

"Time to get dressed Kagome; you need to come out of there eventually."

Kagome shook her head like a child, "No, five more minutes Sango."

"Kagome, don't be like this. Emperor Sesshoumaru is waiting and you need to get ready. Come."

Kagome reluctantly got out of the bathtub and walked over to Sango. She toweled off until she was dry and Sango helped her into her new chiton. Once Kagome's hair was dried, Sango helped arrange the veil and Kagome slipped her feet into her sandals. (_A/n: the veil is a pretty big deal in ancient weddings, it symbolized virginity and was only removed by the husband in private. It is not just a veil like we know now; it was a veil that covered not only the face, but the majority of the body._)

"Wait here, I'm going to go see if there carriage is here." Sango said, leaving the room. The bride traditionally took a carriage from her father's home to the home of her future husband and it was when they reached the husband's home the father would hand over the bride to her husband and the biggest part of the wedding ceremony would be over. Kagome knew that it would be different, having already been living with her future husband, but as far as she knew the carriage; carrying Sango and Miroku – who was giving her away, would drive out into town and then circle around and drive back to the palace as a way of preserving some traditionalism.

Sango came back in the bathhouse and took Kagome's hand and led her out to where the carriage was waiting. Miroku helped her into the carriage and then Sango and climbed in after them both. The carriage began moving and Kagome sat stoic, staring at her feet.

"Kagome, smile" Sango said, trying to comfort her friend.

"Sango is right, this should be happy. I know this isn't what you wanted exactly, but this is what the gods want for you."

"I know. It's just-" Kagome was unable to finish her sentence as the carriage came to a screeching halt and she flew forward into Miroku's lap. As she picked herself up all she remembered was a loud crash before everything went dark.

* * *

Sesshoumaru paced uneasily in the main hall of the palace where the carriage was said to arrive. From what he was told, Kagome should have arrived already. He hadn't heard anything from the guards that were watching the carriage either and that worried him. He continued pacing, certain he would wear a hole in the floor.

He looked up to see Miroku staggering towards him, Sesshoumaru was curious about the way Miroku was moving until he noticed something that terrified him, Miroku's robes were covered in blood.

"Miroku! What is going on? Where is the carriage and where is Kagome?" Sesshoumaru asked, running towards him, meeting him so he would not have to go any further; knowing that he already must have come a long way while wounded.

Miroku collapsed on the ground in front of Sesshoumaru, "It…happened so quickly sire…" he gasped out.

Sesshoumaru knelt down beside his friend, pulling his head into his lap, not caring that the blood and dirt was staining his white ceremonial robes and placed a hand over the wound on his abdomen, attempting to staunch the flow of blood. "What happened my friend? Miroku, what's going on?" he asked ferverently.

"They came…they were…everywhere. I couldn't...I tried but I couldn't..." Miroku said with a struggle, trying hard to take deep breaths.

"Who is "they" Miroku? Who are you talking about? What couldn't you do?" Sesshoumaru persisted, becoming increasingly worried about the whereabouts of Kagome.

"Sp…Spartans sire. I couldn't protect her...I tried to. I tried to keep her safe but I couldn't protect her. The Spartans attacked the carriage while we were in the center of town…they…they took her. They took Kagome."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: okay, plot twist extreme right here but yeah. This is a good time and I hope you liked it and please review!_


	11. 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: I know that it has been forever and I'm sorry. I've been so so busy and this is possibly the first time that I was able to sit down and write. So I hope you enjoy it. And please read the important note in my bio, it concerns pretty much all of my other stories. So check that out. And please review!_

**Living on a Prayer**  
_Chapter Eleven_

"What?!" Sesshoumaru roared, causing Miroku to take a step back.

"They took her sire. They took her."

Sesshoumaru looked at the priest for a moment before storming out of the room and into his study. _What am I supposed to do? Our army can't compare with Sparta's…how am I supposed to get Kagome back?_

There was a knock at the door and a servant tentatively came into the room, bowing low.

"What is it?!" Sesshoumaru snapped.

"Would his majesty wish me to call for his brother? Or his advisor?" he asked in a nervous voice, knowing what Sesshoumaru was capable of in this state.

"Yes. Make it quick. There is much planning to be done."

The servant bowed even lower and ran from the room, leaving the door ajar behind him. Sesshoumaru leaned forward and put his head in his hands. _What kind of emperor am I if I cannot even protect one girl? What kind of emperor am I if I cannot protect those I care about? I just pray Inuyasha or Miroku have an idea that will work, because I have no idea what to do._

The door was pushed open and Inuyasha and Miroku walked in, taking the seats opposite Sesshoumaru at the desk. Sesshoumaru moved things out of the way on his desk until the map of Athens and Sparta was visible on the desk.

"Any ideas?" he asked and Miroku and Inuyasha sat silent, staring at the map as if it would tell them exactly what to do. It didn't.

"Sesshoumaru, if you calm yourself then the ideas will come to you easier. Your mind is clouded and you cannot think straight." Miroku said and although Sesshoumaru knew that he was right, he couldn't calm himself, he was too concerned with Kagome's well being; who knows what they were doing to her in Sparta! They are monsters!

"We need to think before we act" Inuyasha said, not looking up from the map, "Their armies are immense and we stand no chance against them. What do we have that the Spartans do not?"

"Pottery and weaving" Sesshoumaru said with a scoff, for the first time wishing the Athenians were not artisans, but soldiers.

"Do not mock your people Sesshoumaru" Miroku chastised, "Because you are upset does not mean your people should take the blame."

"Do not treat me like a child Miroku. I am the emperor."

Miroku bowed his head, "My apologies sire."

Sesshoumaru shrugged off the apology, knowing that it was not sincere. He turned to Inuyasha, "What _do_ we have the Spartans do not?" he asked.

"Logic. Intellect. We are learned people Sesshoumaru." Miroku answered.

"But being learned people cannot defeat the Spartan army and rescue Kagome!" he snapped, his patience with Miroku growing short, despite the fact that he was the only one with ideas.

"We do not need to defeat the armies to get her back _sire_" Miroku said, stressing the sire to mock Sesshoumaru's state of mind, "We have the intellectual means to make a plan. We can send in someone to get her. Like a spy; someone to go in without being noticed and get her out without her being missed."

"But who would be able and willing to do that?" Inuyasha asked him, growing just as impatient as his brother was.

"I would" a voice from the doorway called and they turned to see High Priestess Sango standing in the doorway with a servant huffing and puffing behind her.

"I'm sorry your majesties. She rushed in, I tried to stop her! I'll have her taken away immediately." He gasped out.

"No" Sesshoumaru said, "This woman is now a member of my council." The servant bowed and walked away.

"Come. Sit down." Sesshoumaru instructed and Sango walked forward, closing the door behind her and she took a seat beside Miroku.

"What is your name?" Sesshoumaru asked, "I have not seen you before."

"I am called Sango, sire. I am the high priestess of the temple of Athena. I was also Kagome's numpheutria as she prepared herself for you."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "And you are willing to infiltrate Sparta to get Kagome back?"

She nodded, "Yes sire."

"You are a member of my council now Sango. You may call me Sesshoumaru. I am only a man here, not an emperor."

She nodded again, "I am willing to go to Sparta for Kagome, Sesshoumaru."

"But why would you do such a thing? Why would you risk life and limb to get back someone you don't know?" Inuyasha asked, not able to understand Sango's motives.

"Kagome came to my temple the first night she was taken from hers. She was scared and unsure and I comforted her. I felt a connection to her at that moment, not because we were both priestesses, but because I felt as if her spirit were the same as mine. I wish to rescue Kagome because I know where she belongs, and that is with you Sesshoumaru. I will not be suspected, I am a priestess and I could be making pilgrimage to all temples of Athena in Greece. That would be inconspicuous enough."

"But how would you see Kagome?" Inuyasha pressed, trying to find any kind of holes in the priestess' plan and Miroku and Sesshoumaru sat listening intently to the girl speak.

"I know that she makes regular trips to both Athena's and Artemis' temples. If she can find favor with the Spartan king, then he will be sure to allow her to continue visiting the temples."

"But what if Kagome does not find favor?" this time it was Sesshoumaru asking the question, not to find flaws in the plan, but out of concern for Kagome. "What if she is thrown in the dungeon as a prisoner of war and left there?"

Sango smiled, "I know Kagome Sesshoumaru. She could charm anyone; it is her nature to make people happy. If the king so much as sets eyes on her, she will find favor. Is that not how she entranced you?"

Sesshoumaru disregarded the statement and thought for a moment. The plan seemed foolproof. The priestess had thought of everything…except…

"How do you plan on getting her back to Athens?"

Sango thought for a moment, "I do not know right now Sesshoumaru. But I assure you, the gods will reveal a way how once the plan is set into action. I put my trust in my goddess to give me the wisdom and to your god to give me the strength to do it."

Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru and Miroku all met eyes and silently agreed to the plan. Sesshoumaru turned to Sango locked eyes with her, "You will leave for Sparta at dawn."

* * *

**-Sparta-**

Kagome was thrown into a small room as soon as she arrived in Sparta. She looked around her surroundings, it was a small and modest room but it was ten times better than a holding cell in the dungeon would have been and for that she was thankful.

She picked herself off of the floor and moved to the small couch that was sitting in the middle of the room and sat down. There was nothing for her to do but wait at this point and that's what she was going to do. And as she waited, she prayed to every god that could give her aid.

She looked down at the veil that once covered her entire body; it was ripped in places and dirtied with mud. A tear rolled down her cheek as she removed it and attempted to fold it. It had been Sesshoumaru's mothers as well and she knew how important it was, and because of her, it was ruined. Besides staying safe, keeping the veil safe was her first priority. She wanted to be able to return it to Sesshoumaru, dirtied or not.

She heard the door open and her head flew up to see who was entering. A man walked into the room and over to her, he had long black hair, almost as long as Sesshoumaru's, but rather than let his down like Sesshoumaru did, he bound his hair into a ponytail. As he neared, Kagome could see two emotions in his dark eyes, intrigue and power. He stood in front of her and Kagome leaned away from him.

"Why so scared priestess?" he asked in a tone that mocked her fright. He looked her up and down, from the muddy hem of her pristine white dress to her hands holding the veil close to her body, to her scared clear blue eyes and rich ebony hair. She was perfect to him, even with all the fear and dirt.

He reached out to touch her but she recoiled at his touch. "There is no need to be scared of me priestess. No harm will come to you. You are simply here to help me teach Sesshoumaru a lesson."

"Are you…the king?" she asked nervously.

He smiled, "Of course I am. But you priestess, may call me Kouga."

"Why would I be granted such an honor when I am simply a prisoner here your highness?" she asked meekly.

"That's simple" he said, kneeling in front of her so they were eye to eye, "Because I intend to make you my wife."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: There we have it. The long long long awaited chapter. Sorry again that it took so long but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless! Please review!_


	12. 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Still. But my ideas are mine. Just mine.**

_Authoress' Note: once again, it's been forever. Sorry. I'm going to put a little blame on the fact that I've been very invested in my quizilla stories lately (click the link on my homepage if you want to check them out!) But now I'm going to update this and hopefully it will be a little longer for you! Enjoy!_

**Living on a Prayer  
**_Chapter Twelve_

"Your…wi…wif…wife?" Kagome stuttered out as the King of Sparta stood in front of her.

"Of course. What would hurt the great Emperor Sesshoumaru more than taking the one thing he cares about from him? It is the perfect plan and you are just what I needed to inflict the pain I wanted."

"I'm a tool…" Kagome said softly, suddenly regretting not agreeing to marry the emperor sooner, if she hadn't held out for so long this would not be happening.

"Don't think of it that way Priestess, it will make things seem sadder. Think of it as…as…well, I don't know what to think of it as. What matters is that it is happening no matter what you want. We will be married and my plan will go exactly how I want it to."

"Because I don't matter" she said softly, her voice quiet but angry. Her eyes were focused on the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with him.

"If you want to be brave Priestess, look me in the eye and be brave. Your courage means nothing to me if you stare at the ground. You are in Sparta now Priestess and you will find that what matters here is not what you say, but how you say it. You would be wise to learn that."

Kagome lifted her eyes slowly to meet Kouga's, her blue eyes penetrating his brown ones, "You will pay for this" she said through clenched teeth.

He simply smiled at her, "Good show Priestess, there may be hope for you yet as a Spartan."

Her eyes stayed locked on his, "No. I am an Athenian. And I always will be. Do not expect anything else from me."

He smiled again, finding her anger humorous and cute rather than intimidating as Kagome wished it to be. "I do not expect anything from you Priestess, other than complete obedience. You will do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it without complaint. There will be consequences for disobedience, believe me when I say that."

"You don't scare me." She spat, her courage amusing him more and more each time she spoke.

He chuckled slightly, "And why is that Priestess? Why are you not afraid when any normal person would be, I pray, enlighten me."

"Because the gods are on my side, they will not allow you to harm me." She said confidently. Kouga knew that this was true; he had heard a lot about Kagome and knew enough to know how the gods favored her. He knew better than to harm her, that much was true.

"That may be true Priestess, but the gods have allowed you to be taken away from Athens have you not thought about that?"

She thought for a second and Kouga knew that he had won.

"Whatever is happening is part of the gods plan for me." She said finally and Kouga's victory flew out the window.

"Whatever the case may be, you are here now and you are mine. That is all that you need to know." He said finally and turned to leave the room.

"Wait!" she called and he turned around.

"Yes Priestess?"

"May I go to the temple?"

"You fight and argue with me and yet you now ask me for a favor? That is very brave of you Priestess."

"I know Your Majesty"

"Kouga" he interrupted.

"I know Kouga, but I feel that there might be some part of you that will take sympathy on me and allow me to go to the one place where I truly feel home."

"You are brave indeed Priestess. And I previously stated Spartans value bravery above everything else. You were brave enough to both fight me and to then ask me a favor, I respect that. You may go to the temple as long as you go with an escort of my choosing. Agreed?"

She nodded, "Agreed. Thank you."

He nodded in return, "I will be back with your escort shortly, do not attempt to go anywhere or you will never see the outside of this room, let alone the temple. And you should change into something less…formal. There is a clean chiton on the bed. Change before I come back."

"All right. And Kouga?"

"Yes Priestess?" he asked, his hand hovering over the door handle.

"May I ask you for one more favor?"

"It depends on what the favor is Priestess, but seeing as I am trying to attempt to convince you marrying me would not be so bad, I will do what I can to make you happy here."

_He's trying to win me over…just like Sesshoumaru. They're pretty alike…but I know I belong in Athens with Sesshoumaru._ Kagome thought as Kouga waited for her request with somewhat eager eyes.

"This veil belonged to Sesshoumaru's mother. It's the only thing he has left of hers. Please, I beg you; please make sure nothing bad happens to this." She pleaded, holding the semi-muddied veil in her hands.

"That is what you ask of me? You could ask for better accommodations or beg for me to let you go and yet you ask me to keep the veil safe and to go to the temple?" He asked, truly confused by her actions.

"I do not think there is any use in trying to get what I know I will not. I ask for the simple things that I believe you will do for me."

"You are truly an Athenian Priestess, well spoken and wise. We will remedy that soon enough, you will be a Spartan like the rest of us."

"You wish"

"We will see about that."

"Yes we will. So will this remain safe?" she asked again, holding the veil closer to her.

"Yes Priestess, you needn't worry about the veil. You really should worry more about yourself than about the things you hold dear. Your escort will be here shortly. Change." He said and then left the room before Kagome could say anything else.

Kagome stood and walked over to the small bed where she saw the off white chiton sitting on the pillow. She placed the folded veil on the bed and took off her wedding chiton, folding it and placing it on top of the veil. She put the clean chiton on just as the door opened and a large guard walked in, spear and shield in hand.

"Priestess, I am here to bring you to the temples. Which gods do you wish to pay homage to?"

"Artemis and Athena, please." She said meekly, intimated by the guard.

He nodded and stood to the side so Kagome could walk out of the room. She walked slowly through the doorway and the guard followed behind her, closing the door behind the two of them. Normally Kagome would have tried to talk to the guard, be friendly, do something but instead she found herself still afraid of the man to attempt any form of conversation. They walked silently and quickly through the halls of the palace and out onto the streets.

The main thing that Kagome realized about Sparta compared to Athens was that it was darker. Not just in brightness, but in demeanor. The people weren't as friendly or lively, no one was talking in the public square and everyone looked angry. She hated it. It frightened her. They made their way to the temple and Kagome climbed the stairs and saw Artemis' familiar face and was immediately comforted.

"You have five minutes here Priestess and then we will move to the temple of Athena. The king doesn't want you gone for long." The guard said coldly and Kagome's comfort was ripped away from her.

She nodded and moved away from his side and moved towards the statue of Artemis that stood in the middle of the temple. She knelt down in a silent prayer for the entire time allotted to her by the guard. She stood up slowly, not wanting to leave Artemis but knowing she had to. She walked back over to the guard and let him know that he was ready to leave.

They walked down the road in silence until they reached the temple of Athena. The temple was nothing like Athena's temple in Athens; it was smaller and less well kept that Athens' but that could be because Athena was not Sparta's patron god as she was Athens'. She walked up the short flight of steps and was greeted by one of the priestesses that Kagome found incredibly familiar.

"Welcome to the temple. I'm a visiting priestess, assisting the high priestess for the time being." She greeted them and Kagome's eyes went wide with shock as the priestess smiled warmly at her.

"Sango?" she asked quietly. Sango motioned to the statue of Athena and they walked over to the statue, away from the guard.

"Why are you here?" Kagome asked as they knelt in front of the statue.

"I'm here to bring you home."

* * *

**Authoress' Note:  
Hope it was worth the wait! Let me know what you think!**


	13. 13

**Disclaimer: I only own my ideas. Not the characters.**

_Authoress' Note: _

_I'm seriously sorry it has been so long since I've last updated. It's pretty much unacceptable because it's been five months...that's too long. But the still somewhat constant flow of reviews I get on this story remind me that people are still reading and waiting for more, so thanks so much for the encouragement. I think it's just because I've been focusing heavily on my original fiction on my mibba account right now but I'm going to try as hard as I can to update this more frequently. So enjoy this, even if it might be a little shorter than usual. I hope that it is worth the wait!_

* * *

**Living on a Prayer**  
_Part Thirteen_

"How are you supposed to rescue me?" Kagome asked in a hushed voice so her escorts wouldn't hear her talking.

"Don't worry Kagome, we'll figure everything out. Just stay vigilant, and stay strong. Keep your faith in your goddess and everything will work out in the end."

"But Sango...you don't understand." She whispered back. She heard the escorts standing behind her clearing their throats, obviously suspicious of her chatter with Sango and impatient to leave the temple.

Sango took Kagome's hand and together they walked towards the large statue of Athena that stood smiling in the middle of the temple, much like the statue that stood in Athens. Looking at Athena's smiling face comforted Kagome, and was reassured that even in a place full of warriors there was someone comforting and although Athena was a comforter, she was also a warrior as she stood with her spear and shield, prepared for battle.

_I need to be like her. _She thought to herself, _an unlikely warrior. _

They knelt down at the statues feet and as they said a quick prayer before returning to their conversation in hushed tones without making eye contact, still under the guise of prayer.

"What don't I understand Kagome? You are a prisoner here, which begs the question; how are you even here?"

"That's what you don't understand Sango. The king of Sparta...he wants to marry me."

Sango's breath hitched in her throat, "But...Kagome...why?"

"Because he knows that is what is going to hurt Sesshoumaru most. I can't let that happen."

Sango rested a comforting hand on Kagome's shoulder, "Don't worry. Everything will work out all right."

A gruff hand clapped down on Kagome's other shoulder and she looked up to see one of the two escorts staring down at her. "Time to go priestess. His highness didn't want you out too long so it's time we bring you back to the palace."

"I was promised a trip to the temple of Artemis as well."

"You were promised nothing priestess and I do not think that you are in the position to compromise. If you haven't forgotten priestess: you are a prisoner here. You do not have the privilege to have choices or options. Come now before we have to ask you again."

Kagome slowly rose to her feet, giving one last sorrowful look to Sango before allowing herself to be led from the temple and back towards the palace and the man waiting to marry her.

_Artemis_ She began a silent prayer,_ Please watch over Sesshoumaru. Keep him safe. And please Athena, keep his mind clear so he does not act without thinking first. Give him clarity and wisdom to help return me home.  
_

* * *

**  
In Athens**

Sesshoumaru paced angrily in his study, stopping every five or six paces to throw something off of a shelf onto the floor in a rage. When he ran out of things to destroy he stood in the middle of the mess and swore silently to himself. There was a small knock at the door and letting himself become falsely hopeful, he hurried to the door and threw it open.

"They found her?!" He asked quickly to the somewhat startled Miroku.

"Um...no sire. I haven't heard anything from Sango yet. I was just working out a potential plan if we need to invade to get her back. I assume you are willing to go that far to get her back."

"I am. Whatever it takes. Begin to gather able-bodied people in case an army is necessary."

"But sire, you know full well we cannot stand against the Spartan army."

"Then we will invade, we will sneak in in the night and steal her back from under their noses. They will never know what hit them. We will get her back, no matter the cost."

"And how will your people feel knowing you are willing to sacrifice the lives of our scholars in order to retrieve a woman for you? Need I remind you of Helen?"

"We do not speak of that Miroku. And I do not care what they think. They are the ones who wished for me to get married, and that is what is going to happen."

There was another knock on the door and without waiting for someone to answer, the man from Thebes walked in and up to Sesshoumaru.

"What do you want? Now is not the time to bother me with your trivial investigations." Sesshoumaru said, making his voice significantly colder in an attempt to scare the man away.

"I was just coming to inform you that I am leaving."

"Oh. Then go, I am not stopping you."

"Do you not wish to know what I found about your priestess?"

"That she has been stolen from me by that scum of a Spartan King Kouga? I already know that, but thank you for reminding me."

"I just want to inform you that once your priestess returns I will not be back for her. She is not the princess I was looking for."

"And how do you know this? You have observed her for all of three days."

"Because I stole a small portion of the piece of fabric she had from her childhood. It was nothing but a thin linen, a royal child would have a blanket made of silk or at least a strong cotton. There is no way that a royal child would have a blanket made of such cheap material. My investigation is over and I now leave and if the gods will it, I will not return to your house Emperor."

"Very well. You may leave and may the gods protect you on your journey back to Thebes." Sesshoumaru said with less than hidden insincerity.

Without saying another word the man left the room. Miroku looked at Sesshoumaru and attempted to gauge his reaction to the man's news but could not.

"Well this is good news indeed sire, she will not be forced to leave us, she isn't the princess."

"Yes Miroku...but that makes little difference considering SHE HAS ALREADY BEEN TAKEN FROM ME!" he shouted, throwing the closest shelf unit to the ground with an ear-shattering crash, making Miroku jump nearly a foot in the air.

"Sire, you must calm down. Acting out of rage will get you no where, you need to clear your mind and an answer will present itself."

Quick footsteps were heard in the hall and Inuyasha rushed into the room, holding a scroll in one hand.

"What is that Inuyasha?"

"A message from Sango. She has met with Kagome in the temple of Athena. She is being treated well by the king who is holding her captive. There is just one thing…" He trailed off, obviously not wanting to give his half-brother the bad news Sango wrote him of.

"What Inuyasha? What is this one thing?" Sesshoumaru asked, impatient and worried what his brother was withholding from him.

"He plans on marrying her"

"That...Spartan plans on marrying MY priestess?!" He exploded, taking deep breaths in a worthless attempt to calm himself. "Miroku!"

"Yes sire?"

"Ready the troops. We are invading Sparta and getting her back. My priestess will not marry a Spartan."

"When will we invade sire?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red as he looked at his half-brother and advisor, "Tonight."

* * *

_Authoress' Note: so there it is. And the next one will come sooner than five months I promise. But school starts in a week and I'll be a little busy. But I hope you liked and make sure to review and tell me what you think! Thanks for sticking with me through my long absence!_


	14. 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.**

_Authoress' Note: Yes this has taken just as long as the last one did and I feel terribly that I've been neglecting for my Mibba account but I promise you I still love this story dearly, the ideas are just flowing a little slower than I would like. I'm going to try and outline the rest of this story so the chapters will come more quickly for those of you still reading. So without further ado…_

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter 14_

Kagome sat restless in "her" room as she waited for something, anything, to happen. She knew that if the king wanted to marry her, he would do it regardless of the correct ceremonies and without the pomp and circumstance that Sesshoumaru had used. Her biggest fear was that someone was to come in, take her and end up married by the end of the night.

She prayed to every god that Sesshoumaru and Sango's plan would work quickly and efficiently and that Kouga would feel too cocky about his easy win to act on his word to marry her right away. She wrung her hands in the plain white chiton she was wearing as she waited patiently for anything to happen.

Every few minutes or so she would hear footsteps outside of the door but they never stopped in front of her door and no one came into the room. She began to pace uncomfortably back and forth in the large room, the silence alone killing her. She wished more than anything she was back in Athens. In Sesshoumaru's palace there was always the sound of people bustling around and the sound of music wafting throughout the halls but Kouga's palace was nothing like that. Everything was stoic and silent, everything was terrifying.

She heard more footsteps approaching the door and although this time she assumed no one was coming into her room she was wrong. She heard a key in the lock of her door and the knob turned quickly as the door was flung open.

"Come" was all the guard said to her as he slammed the door open. She quickly rose from her seat and he had turned from the room before he even knew if Kagome was following. She was nearly running to keep up with the man, each of his long strides equaling at least three of hers. As soon as she began to keep up with him, he abruptly stopped and she ran into him, quickly backing up and muttering an apology, which he ignored.

The guard pushed the door open without a word and Kagome simply stared at him before realizing that she was meant to go inside. She stepped inside the door and as soon as she was out of the doorway the door slammed behind her and she heard the guards footsteps retreating down the hall.

Kagome stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking around the seemingly empty room. It was large, much larger than the one she had been staying in and from the looks of it was made up of multiple smaller rooms. As much as she wanted to take a look around she knew it would be much wiser for her to simply stay where she was.

"Are you going to linger in the doorway?" A voice, obviously Kouga's asked from a room beyond the one Kagome was standing in. She looked around, trying to figure out where he was without having to move from her spot.

"Well? Come here." The voice called again and served to move Kagome without her even thinking about it. Her feet seemingly moved of her own accord, following his voice straight back, finding the chambers much larger than she thought, and after crossing through two rooms she found herself in the back room – the bedroom – and she also found herself in Kouga's company.

"Hello Priestess" He said in an almost cheerful voice, but Kagome quickly determined that Kouga was incapable of being cheerful – it being way too out of character for the king of Sparta.

She bowed her head in respect, "Your highness."

"Surely you can call me by my name Priestess" He said in a tone that seemed almost mocking.

Kagome simply shook her head; not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing his words affected her. "No sire, you are a king and should be treated with that respect. I am simply an orphan priestess and I am in no place to address you so informally."

Kouga laughed, "Priestess you never cease to amuse me."

Kagome raised her eyebrow in confusion, "Sire?"

He laughed again, "Priestess, whether you have chosen to accept it yet or not, you will shortly be my wife. Once that is so I am sure that you will be able to refer to me "so informally" as you say. When you are my queen you will only call me by my name, do you understand?"

She nodded, "And until that is true sire, I will pay you the respect you deserve as king." She responded, not saying anything that would potentially upset him and threaten his niceness towards her. Truly she wanted to laugh at the man, to tell him that there was no way that she would become his wife because she would be rescued by the Athenians and she would marry Sesshoumaru. She didn't want to marry at all, but she knew that a marriage to Sesshoumaru would be much more enjoyable than being married to a man like Kouga. But knowing saying any of things would only serve to make things worse. So instead she stood silent, waiting for him to say something else.

"Whatever you say priestess" He said with a small chuckle, "You speak so respectively but I can see your thoughts moving and I know that for everything you say you are holding in at least two things that you do not say. "

"I do not understand what you are talking about sire. I simply say what is expected of me. That's what I was taught."

"Of course it was. You're a priestess, or you were a priestess, and you're a woman, always taught to be respectful and submissive. I do not doubt that your words are not what has been drilled into your head, but I eagerly await the day when you are comfortable enough with me to speak what is on your mind."

"As do I sire."

He laughed again, Kagome was getting rather tired of him laughing at everything she had to say, although she would never admit as much to him, but she did not try to hide her expression of unhappiness, which quickly stopped the king's chuckle. "I have upset you." He stated simply.

"Sire?"

"That look. I have obviously upset you. I apologize."

"Sire?" She asked, her voice clearly communication her confusion.

"Priestess, Kagome, I do not want to upset you. Yes I have brought you here against your will and am planning on using you to get at Emperor Sesshoumaru, but I must admit something to you. It is no longer just about revenge. I must admit that I am finding myself oddly drawn to you, in such a way that I know that marriage to you would be very enjoyable for me and hopefully to you as well. Believe me when I tell you it is more to me than revenge now."

His words touched her, although she kept a stoic face so he would not be able to tell, she simply nodded, "I believe you sire. Truly, I do."

"I hope so Kagome." He looked at her for a moment, her feeling somewhat uncomfortable at the attention, before placing a hand on the chair that sat beside the one he was currently sitting in. "Come sit down Kagome. No need to stand there and be uncomfortable."

She smiled at his kindness, knowing that any discomfort came from being alone with him and not from standing, but nevertheless she took the seat beside him, smiling at him as she did so. "Thank you sire."

"Do you think anyone is coming to rescue you?" He asked after a few silent moments, catching Kagome off guard, her not being able to think of an appropriate answer to his question. "I'm sorry." He apologized after a few more moments of silence from Kagome. "That was an uncomfortable question that I should have know you would not answer. Because it is the essence of a loaded question because of course you want to make me happy and say no but that would be betraying yourself. And if you were to say yes someone is coming, you fear that not only will that upset me, but also it will make me enhance my guards around the palace. "

"You are very wise your highness, you would make a great Athenian."

"Thank you Kagome. I must say, as a king I do get many compliments but I believe that you are the first person to truly compliment my intellect. And of course to pair such a good compliment with something as ludicrous as telling me I would make a good Athenian…your words never cease to amaze me Priestess."

"Well I hope that that is a good thing sire" She replied with a smile, glad that her comments hadn't served to upset him, which was not what she was intending to. Although he was not upset she still scolded herself for being so thoughtless, knowing that what may have seemed like a compliment to her could be misconstrued as an insult to the king of Sparta.

"You're having another internal battle aren't you Priestess?" He asked with a chuckle as he watched her deep in thought, "You are scolding yourself for the Athenian comment, are you not?"

Kagome couldn't help but laugh along with him, "Hopefully I am not that transparent am I sire?"

"No, you're not, I can just read you. And there is nothing to worry about when you are with me Kagome. I hope you realize that there is no need to walk on eggshells around me, I may be king but I am still just a man."

"I had always heard that Kings were gods" Kagome said in a joking voice.

"Chosen by the gods, perhaps, but gods themselves? No."

"You truly are wise. I do not think any Athenians give you enough credit for that."

"What do you mean by that priestess?"

"Well, I suppose that what I mean is that the Athenians paint Spartans as simply heathens, brainless heathens. They do not even consider the fact that the leader of the so called "brainless heathens" is truly someone of great knowledge, much like the Athenians themselves. Maybe if they were to see that, there would not be so much animosity between Athens and Sparta."

"And you say that I am the wise one? Priestess I am impressed, although I do find your words a bit idealist. The rivalry between our city-states is as old as the gods themselves, based on the rivalry between our patron gods. But despite that, I do not think you a fool for your thoughts, because they are quite good. I look forward to a marriage with you, for hopefully many conversations like this one will happen and when you are no longer afraid to completely speak your mind."

Kagome started to respond but decided it would be better just to keep quiet, savoring the conversation too much to let his talk of their marriage make her think of Sesshoumaru. Kouga's caring did affect her, but the feelings that existed for Sesshoumaru, though born out of a hatred and disdain, were still stronger than her feelings for Kouga could ever become.

Kouga leaned towards her, placing a hand gently on her knee. What surprised her more about the contact between them was not the contact itself, but how gently the king of Spartans touch could be. The met eyes and Kagome couldn't help but blush as he eyes seemingly peered through her.

He gave her knee a slight squeeze, "This has been a wonderful talk. As much as I wish that it would never end, I must go and meet with my advisors regarding the marriage and potential attack. You are more than welcome to remain here in my chambers; the library is straight through the archway if you are interested in reading. I shall return in a short while and I hope that you will still be here when I return."

"I thank you for your kindness sire, and I will definitely take advantage of it. When you return you will more than likely find me with my nose in a book., it was a great pleasure of mine to read in the temple and it seems you know right where my passion lies."

Kouga smiled at her, obviously excited to have found something that pleased her, "I am glad to hear it. I will see you shortly." He said, placing a chaste kiss on her knuckles before leaving the room.

Kagome sat still in her chair after he had left, staring at the door, not quite knowing what to do. She looked down at her hand and her stomach jumped in a way she hadn't expected it to. She shook her head in an attempt to shake the thought from her mind.

_I don't want to stay. I don't like him. I don't like it here._ She thought over and over again in an attempt to calm herself down. She thought of Sesshoumaru in Athens and the temple in Athens and Sango (who despite being in Sparta at the moment) in Athens. She stood and walked toward where Kouga had told her the library was and thought that perhaps some reading would clear her mind.

She gasped at the enormous size of the library, something that greatly surprised her based on the stereotypes that Spartans were not a well-educated people when it came to anything intellectual. She walked through the aisles of books, running her hand over the scrolls that were stacked there. There was anything and everything someone could imagine – mathematics, philosophy, art, battle techniques, everything. She pulled a copy of Plato's The Republic from the stacks before settling down on the small couch that was placed near a window.

She lost herself in the book, finding so much joy in simply being able to relax in a book without temple duties to accomplish or any work to do. Every so often she would glance at the window over Sparta's landscape. The city-state was not nearly as artistic as Athens but she found herself finding beauty in it nonetheless. She watched the people move to and from the palace as her eyes wandered from the pages of the book to the window.

She had no idea how long she had been reading when she heard the door of the room slam open, hitting the wall hard and startling her with the sound.

"Priestess?!" She heard Kouga's voice yell in an almost frantic tone (although Kagome was sure of the fact that the king of Sparta would never be frantic)

"I'm in the library" She called back, her voice giving away the fact that his worried voice had served to worry her as well. She placed her scroll on the couch and rose to meet him in the doorway. He quickly appeared the room, taking her hand in his without so much as a word to her before he began pulling her from the room and practically dragging her behind him.

"Sire? Is something wrong?" She asked in a flustered voice, fighting to keep up with him so he wouldn't be pulling her.

"We need to do it and we need to do it quickly," He said in a voice that Kagome could without a doubt classify as flustered.

"Do what? Sire what is going on?" She asked, now at a run to keep up with his pace through the castles hallways.

"The Emperor is infiltrating the city and the palace. I hadn't counted on the artists actually staging an attack. We need to be married, _now_."

The words made her stop dead in her tracks, although she didn't actually stop considering Kouga continued to drag her through the hallway.

"Wait! Can't it wait?" She asked desperately.

"No! If you are married to me he can't take you from me. I won't let him."

The way he said that hit her, the same way his words before did. He didn't say that he didn't want Sesshoumaru to take her; he said that he didn't want Sesshoumaru to take her _from him_.

"There are other things than can be done! Hide me! Put me someone Sesshoumaru will not find me. You don't need to marry me! The ceremony won't be right!"

"To hell with the ceremony. This is the only thing I can do to be sure than I can keep you with me."

He pulled her through a few more corridors before he pushed open two large double doors, pushing her into the room before entering behind her and closing and locking the doors. The room was empty save a man that Kagome had not seen before one guard that she had seen once in passing. Kouga took her hand and walked her up in front of the stranger.

"This is Kagome, my future wife. Please, marry us as quickly as you can" Kouga said to the man, not bothering to say anything else, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the Athenians found them. He prayed to Ares that they would come too late.

The stranger began to read the main part of the marriage ceremony and all noise around Kagome turned fuzzy as he brain began to slowly shut down. She had no idea what was happening, all she knew was that she would give anything to see Sesshoumaru walking through the doors to save her from the marriage.

"Yes I do. Hurry up please." She heard Kouga say, her eyes closed tightly, willing time to slow down, knowing that she was going to have to give her answer next, and with Kouga standing beside her and no one there to take her back to Athens, she knew she only had one answer to give.

"Do you accept?" The man asked her and Kouga squeezed her hand, a little too forcefully for her liking but she knew that he hadn't meant to and then she scolded herself for justifying the actions of the man forcing her into marriage.

"Kagome" Kouga almost growled under his breath.

"Yes, I do" She said softly and Kouga smiled widely, turning towards her and kissing her on command from the stranger, sliding one of his rings onto her finger in the process.

"Now you're mine" He whispered in an almost kind voice, twisting the ring on her finger and kissing her again, making Kagome's heart flutter in an uncomfortable way.

Not a second later, the doors flung off of their hinges as Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha entered the room; Kouga tightened his grip around Kagome before turning to his rival.

"You're too late" He said with a smirk.

**

_Authoress' Note: so it is unacceptable how long this took and an infinite amount of thanks to those of you who are sticking with this story and understanding that some things slip through the cracks without me wanting them to. So I made this chapter super long and eventful mentally and physically (aka emotion stuff and physical stuff) for those of you who stuck by me. I think I may have my mental juices flowing on this story so I hope that I can have a new chapter up in a few weeks._

_Thanks again! So much!_

_Reviews are love._


	15. 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just my plot. Inuyasha and co are not mine…unfortunately.**

_Authoress' Note: Can you believe it?! It's been less than a year and I'm updating! Thanks so much for all of your support and reviews on the last chapter and I'm not surprised at how many of you are angry with Kagome (aka me) for saying yes. But there is a method to my madness and sadly enough I think this story is coming to an end…but enjoy this chapter!!_

**Living on a Prayer**_  
Chapter Fifteen_

Kagome turned to meet Sesshoumaru's gaze as Kouga's words sunk in. _Too late._ Kagome noticed his facial expression change drastically, from the cold and stoic façade to the face of a man enraged, enraged and yet broken.

"Impossible" Sesshoumaru ground out, his eyes almost desperately searching Kagome's for any sign that what Kouga had said was false, he found nothing. The door was thrown back again and Sesshoumaru was soon flanked by both Miroku and Inuyasha, standing behind their emperor as they waited for the command.

"Afraid not, _Athenian"_ Kouga said, saying the word as if it were a disease, "Although I suppose that my _wife_ is technically an Athenian…but I suppose now she's a Spartan" He mused aloud to himself, mostly for the benefit of knowing that it would only prove to make Sesshoumaru more and more angry.

Sesshoumaru's hands curled into fists, his nails threatening to break the skin as his knuckles began to turn white. "Priestess" He said, his teeth clenched together, "Tell me that this _dog_ is lying."

She didn't want to meet his gaze, knowing that it would only serve to upset him further. She couldn't break her gaze away from her feet, all she could do was shake her head. "I'm sorry" She said softly, a tear sliding from her eye and landing beside her feet on the floor.

"There there _wife_" Kouga said with false concern, "No need to cry. Everything will be resolved soon enough. No need for tears." He walked to her side, taking a callused thumb and running it underneath her eyes, wiping her tears away, his contact with Kagome only serving to make Sesshoumaru's blood boil.

"Get away from her" Sesshoumaru commanded, which only warranted a laugh from Kouga, his loud voice startling Kagome as he laughed.

"I hardly think that you are in a position to make that command. You are not in your city state emperor, you have no power here, and you most certainly have no power to tell me how to act with my wife. I'm not sure if you had gotten this yet, but she is _my_ wife Sesshoumaru. I won. Just as I always do and always will."

Sesshoumaru was upon Kouga so quickly that Kagome would have missed it if she had blinked or looked the other way. Sesshoumaru had his throat in his hand, with a look on his face that Kagome knew was one of a man possessed, a man that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, a man who was going to kill. Kouga struggled underneath Sesshoumaru's grasp, but he had no intent of giving up so easily. Kouga grabbed a hold of Sesshoumaru's wrists, throwing Sesshoumaru off of him. Kagome looked at the two men with a look of utter terror on her face. She retreated to the far corner of the room, knowing that neither Kouga nor Sesshoumaru would have a clear enough mind to not harm her should she get too close.

Miroku, seeing Kagome's retreat, was quickly at her side, placing an arm around your shoulder, "Kagome? Are you all right?" He asked in a soft voice as the sound of Kouga wincing in pain could be heard as Sesshoumaru cut him across the chest with a small knife he had concealed.

Kagome turned away at the sight of Kouga's blood pooling from the cut, staining his clothes a dark crimson. Kouga however, was not fazed by the wound, taking that time to reveal his own concealed weapon, lunging at Sesshoumaru and imbedding the knife into his left arm, causing Sesshoumaru to cry out in pain.

Kagome looked at Miroku, desperate to get her attention away from the fight that was happening both in front of her and because of her. She shook her head as a response to Miroku's question, a reaction that he was expecting.

"Keep your eyes on me Kagome. Don't look at what's happening between them, you shouldn't be subjected to that." He said, locking eyes with her, "Do you understand?"

She nodded, her eyes straying to look behind Miroku, but he quickly noticed and pulled her face towards his, holding her face between his hands. "Kagome stop. Don't look at them."

She shook her head, shaking free of his grip, her eyes glued to the two combating men in front of her. The man who had married Kagome and Kouga had long since fled the room, showing Kagome that there was no way the man was a Spartan – knowing that no Spartan would flee at battle. Inuyasha stood steadfast in the doorway, watching on as his brother fought for his life, knowing that Sesshoumaru would not want him to help him fight Kouga, even though if he was to join the fight Kouga wouldn't have a chance. Kagome's eyes met with Inuyasha's for a split second, her eyes pleading with him to help, but Inuyasha simply shook his head, causing tears to well up in Kagome's eyes.

The wound in Sesshoumaru's arm was bleeding profusely, causing him much more pain than he was willing to let Kouga or Kagome know that. Gripping the knife in his right hand, he knew that he needed to end everything quickly before the pain in his arm took over. He turned the knife in his hands as Kouga's hands were around his throat, attempting to crush his windpipe. Sesshoumaru fought to breathe, glancing out of the corner of his eye and saw Kouga's small sword laying on the floor a few feet from them and took a tinge of relief knowing that Kouga was unarmed. Tightening his hand around the knife, he gathered what he knew was the last of his strength and swung his arm around, plunging the knife into the side of Kouga's throat, causing him to immediately let go to Sesshoumaru and stagger back. Kouga fell to the ground, as he slowly died, blood pooling around the knife that he didn't have the strength to remove from his throat.

Inuyasha made it to his brother as he collapsed, holding him up enough to lower him slowly to the floor. He ripped a strip of fabric from his clothes, tying it tightly around the wound in his brother's arm before calling to Miroku to help move him from the room and from Sparta before people realized what had happened.

"Kagome! We need to go!" Miroku called as he helped Inuyasha carry Sesshoumaru quickly down the hallway.

Kagome looked down at Kouga's now lifeless body, lying on the floor with blood pooling around him. Her heart felt sorry for him – the man that she had learned was more than simply a warrior, but she knew that she had little time to mourn the dead. She fled the room, closing the doors behind her, the thought that she was now a widow creeping into her head and she ran after Miroku, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.

As they reached the carriage that was waiting for them, Sesshoumaru was slipping into unconsciousness. Kagome climbed into the carriage and sat down across from him, her eyes heavy laden with worry. With all the strength he had in him, he lifted his right hand and placed on the side of her face, cupping it. She could feel in his touch how weak he was truly becoming and she began to cry. His hand stayed on her face as her eyes moved to meet his and then something happened right before he drifted into and unconscious state – he smiled at her.

**

_Authoress' Note: Well, there we go. Sorry if I suck at writing fights, but I hope it was okay! Sad to say I think this story will be finished in two or three more chapters but it's been a hell of a ride. Thanks to everyone who has stuck by this story for so long! I love you all!_

_Don't forget to review!! _


	16. 16

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_Authoress' Note: I'm very happy with the response I got for the last chapter and I'm glad I was forgiven for my crappy fight writing abilities. Hopefully that can improve in time. Anywho, I hope you like this chapter! Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!!_

**Living on a Prayer**

_Chapter Sixteen_

As soon as the carriage made it back to Sesshoumaru's palace, he was taken from the carriage by Inuyasha and he was brought inside quickly, his wounds needing to be tended to right away. Kagome walked into the palace with Miroku, her eyes worried and her hands wringing together.

"I saw him smile at you Kagome" Miroku said, in an attempt to cheer her up, or at least keep her mind on something positive, "I have been in this household for as long as I can remember and never once has the emperor shown any sort of affection towards another person. You should be happy."

Kagome looked at him with pain-ridden eyes, "_Happy?_ How can I possibly be _happy?_ Miroku he could be dying right now! Did you see how much blood he lost from the wound in his arm? He could die and it would be all because of me so forgive me if a small smile does not serve to make me happy."

Miroku placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder, stopping their walk into the palace. He turned her to face him before pulling her into a tight embrace. "Kagome. Do not worry about the emperor. He is a strong man and I have no doubt that he will survive this."

"But what if he doesn't?" She mumbled against his chest, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Then I know that knowing that he died to save you would make his passing peaceful. You truly underestimate how much the emperor cares for you."

Kagome pulled away and looked into his eyes, her own glassed over with tears, "Pardon me if I find that hard to believe. He hasn't treated me cruelly, that much is true but he was cold and unmoving whenever we were together. And a smile does not necessarily negate all of that negativity towards me. I don't even know why he would risk his life to rescue me…"

Miroku chuckled slightly to himself, causing Kagome to look at him with very confused eyes, "I'm sorry, this is not the time to be laughing." He said apologetically, "But I suppose I'm laughing because you really do not know of his feelings for you. Kagome, every day Sesshoumaru would stay awake and think of things that could make you more comfortable here, things that he could do with you to make you more comfortable around him. Nearly all of his thoughts since he first saw you in the temple have been of you. He does not know how to show his feelings, he was taught that emperors do not show any signs of weakness and showing his feelings for you would fall into the category of weakness. I'm sure you understand that the emperor needs to keep the stoic façade so that people know to fear him."

She nodded, not fully believing what he was telling her, but her heart was begging her to believe everything he had to say. She had to admit to herself that she had secretly hoped that he had feelings for her that he could just not show, because in her mind that would forgive her for having feelings for a man who showed her nothing but coldness. She pulled herself from Miroku's embrace and wiped her eyes, a small smile on her face. "Thank you Miroku. We should go inside and wait for news from the doctors."

He nodded and the two continued their walk into the palace, walking down the halls in silence, each one trapped within their own thoughts, hypothesizing all the potential outcomes of Sesshoumaru's wounding. They made their way into the antechamber of Sesshoumaru's massive expanse of rooms, finding Inuyasha already seated on one of the many sofa's in the room, hi eyebrows knit together in a worried look.

He looked up when Miroku and Kagome entered the room, but remained in his seat, watching them as they each took a seat across from him.

"Any news?" Miroku asked, "I'm surprised that you are not in there with your brother now."

"Half-brother" Inuyasha corrected, his voice tired and dry, showing how tired he was, "The doctor's wouldn't let me in. They said that Sesshoumaru had decided that if he was to ever require medical attention that could be life threatening, no one was permitted in the room. I suppose that it is wise as an emperor to not let anyone see you vulnerable, but he's being selfish."

"Inuyasha, we know you are worried for your brother – " Miroku started.

"_Half-brother_." He said, cutting him off, "I'm not worried…I'm just…" His thought trailed off and both Kagome and Miroku knew not to press him to finish his thought.

They sat together in silence, waiting for anyone to come out and tell them if Sesshoumaru was going to be okay. Each one of them had their nervous fidgets, Inuyasha sat wringing his hands together, Kagome picked at loose threads on her chiton while Miroku paced back and forth. Every time a door was heard opening all three would stop what they were doing and eagerly look towards the sound, each time being disappointed to find it was not a doctor coming to tell them any news.

It would be over two hours until anyone came outside with news of Sesshoumaru's well being and all three refused to leave the room the entire time, missing the night meal and any activities. The door to the main chambers of Sesshoumaru's room opened and all three sets of hopeful eyes met the gaze of the royal doctor. Inuyasha and Kagome both stood, standing beside Miroku and waited for news of the emperor.

"Well don't just stand there. Tell us what's going on." Inuyasha said forcefully, trying his best not to yell at the man.

The doctor took a deep breath, looking from each face to the next, "He's alive." He said simply, all three breathing sighs of relief, but judging by the look on the man's face there had to be more to his news.

"What else?" Miroku asked, knowing there was more.

"Well, his wound on his left arm was rather nasty, he lost an enormous amount of blood, along with the wound having the starts of an infection. The only way we were able to save his life was to amputate his left arm."

Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes, feeling full blame for what had happened. Now Sesshoumaru wouldn't be able to ride a horse, or hunt, or do…anything.

"You might as well have let him die" Inuyasha mumbled, "Who's going to follow a one armed emperor?"

"This is my fault" Kagome said to herself, staring at her feet before looking up at the doctor, "Does he know? Is he awake?"

The doctor shook his head, "He woke up for a short while after we took the arm, but he was in too much pain so we sedated him. As to whether or not he knows his is missing his arm, I cannot tell you."

She nodded, too shell shocked to know what to do. Another man came out of the room, looking from the doctor to the three waiting.

"He's awake doctor," He informed him, Kagome's eyes widening as she waited for more information. "He's asking for the girl."

The doctor looked to Kagome, motioning her to go back into the chambers, "He's asking for you, you best go and see him." Kagome nodded and walked into the chambers, following the messenger back to where Sesshoumaru's main bedchambers were, assuming that he had been moved to his bed after the procedure was done. She walked into the room, the messenger leaving her alone in the room with him. He was paler than usual, his long hair pulled into a ponytail underneath him, his eyes slightly open, looking at her.

He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find the strength to call her to him, his right hand moved slightly, beckoning her closer to him. She approached him slowly, afraid that she may hurt him more than she already had. She stood by his bedside for a moment, just looking down on him with tear filled eyes until he softly and slowly patted the bed beside where he was laying, motioning for her to sit beside him.

She sat down beside him, fighting to stop the tears from falling as his eyes opened wider to look at her. Despite what he brain was telling her, her eyes strayed to where his left arm would be, rather than the arm being there, it was bandaged slightly below the shoulder, dried blood showing through the white bandages.

"Priestess" He said, his voice hoarse, "Don't look so sad."

She shook her head, "How can I not be sad? This is all because of me. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be lying here after almost dying."

Slowly he lifted his hand until it was cupping her cheek, resting there lightly, Kagome being able to feel just how weak he had become. His thumb moved in circles on her cheek as he thought of what else he could say to her, and gathering the strength to say it.

"I thought a lot Kagome" He said, surprising her by saying her name rather than calling her "Priestess." "When they were operating on me, I thought a lot. I know that I have not treated you well…"

"Don't say that your highness, you've shown me every luxury I would have never known. You have not mistreated me."

"Shh. Kagome, I haven't treated you well. I take you and you agree to marry me and I have not treated you with the kindness you deserve."

"You're the emperor. If you show me kindness people would think that you are weak and that is not acceptable. I understand."

"Stop interrupting me." He said and she nodded, his hand moving with her, "You deserve to be treated well. And now that I have lived through this I know that it was a sign from the gods that I need to treat you with more kindness. Zeus took my arm from me as a warning to treat you well after he intervened on my behalf to take you from the temple."

"I knew I was to blame."

"I don't need you to feel guilty Kagome. I owe it to you. Everything will be better. Once I'm healed and we are married, everything will be different."

"You sound like a different person your highness" Kagome said, stifling a small chucked, "I am unused to hearing you talking without in your emperor voice."

"You won't hear that voice when it just the two of us ever again. Zeus wanted me to change, and I will do my best. It will take time, but I will change."

"Maybe…I don't want you to change. I grew feelings for you as you were, not for who I thought your might change into."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but his eyelids drooped as he fell asleep, having used all of energy to speak with her. His hand slipped from her cheek and landed in her lap. She looked down at him as he fell asleep, her hand moving to his face and brushing loose strands of hair from his face.

She sat at his bedside as he slept and she would stay there until he woke up again in the morning.

**

_Authoress' note: A little change in Sesshoumaru, I know it's out of character but that's the point of the whole "teaching him a lesson" thing so you don't need to point that out. i hope you liked this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review!_


	17. 17

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

_Authoress' Note: thanks so much for the amazing feedback I got for the last chapter, you guys are amazing!_

**Living on a Prayer**_  
Chapter Seventeen_

It took three weeks before Sesshoumaru chose to leave his chambers. After three days of refusing to see anyone other than Kagome and the doctors, he chose to let Miroku and Inuyasha into his chambers so they could tell them the status of his city state. The death of the Spartan King was on everybody's mind and lips, as rumors regarding the manner of his death floated around all of Greece.

Sesshoumaru was worried that the Spartans would retaliate and attack Athens, and with the emperor out of commission – and without an arm – Athens would surely fall. But his fears were quelled as the weeks passed and there was no news from Sparta and he prayed it was because the gods took the need for revenge from the minds of the Spartan nobles, knowing he would not have been able to handle a war in his current state.

He was truly effected by the loss of his arm, not having realized how much he used his non dominant hand and having an immensely hard time compensating. Kagome was there every step of the way, urging him to get out of bed and walk around to get his strength back, helping him eat and write messages and to boost his spirits. He was not proud that he was depending so much on others, especially a woman, and Kagome knew that and was sure to only help him when he needed it the most, wanting him to be able to do things on his own.

What Sesshoumaru was proud of however, was that he kept the promise he made to Kagome. They ate dinner together every night, sharing light conversations as they ate and enjoyed each other's company. And he found that the more and more he opened up to her – although he was determined to still keep some semblance of his emperor exterior – the more happy she seemed living in the palace. No longer did he see her walking around with a frown on her face or looking depressed, she now always greeted him with a smile and seemed to almost float around the palace, lifting the spirits of everyone around her.

Preparations began for the wedding, knowing that this time Spartans were not going to be around to ruin it. It would be the first time that Sesshoumaru would appear to his people and reveal the fact that he was missing an arm. He feared for their loyalty but Kagome (along with Miroku and Inuyasha) assured him that they would stand by him as their emperor no matter what.

**

"Sesshoumaru, Kagome is ready and waiting for you" Inuyasha said, walking into his half-brothers rooms where he was getting dressed for the wedding ceremony. They were skipping the formalities this time around, having done them previously. Both of them just wanted to have the wedding done with and after asking the gods permission to forgo the formalities and sacrifices they decided to proceed and just have Miroku, as the high priest of Zeus, marry them in front of the court.

Sesshoumaru turned as Inuyasha walked into his room, dressed all in white, just as Sesshoumaru was. The robe the emperor was dressed in made his missing arm less obvious and he was grateful for that, but it was still a noticeable trait. He stared at his reflection for a moment in silence as Inuyasha walked closer to him, placing a hand on his half-brother's shoulder.

"Your people love you. Not for how many arms you have, but for how you govern them." He said sincerely.

"I certainly hope you're right Inuyasha."

"I am. Now let's go, Miroku and Kagome are waiting for you."

The two left the rooms together, walking towards the main audience hall of the palace where the court was gathered for the ceremony. They walked into the room and instantly all eyes were on them, especially Sesshoumaru – who had been in hiding for a month prior. The emperor instantly heard whispers as he walked down the makeshift aisle towards where Miroku was standing, wearing the white robes of the high priesthood. He took his place in front of Miroku and Inuyasha stood to his side.

Sesshoumaru took a breath to regain his composure before turning and addressing his court, holding his arm behind his back as well as the sleeve of his robe, to further the illusion that he did in fact have two arms.

"I would like to thank you all for coming here today" He began, his voice strong and regal, "After what happened the previous time I attempted to wed I am surprised that you all had faith this time it would go off without complications."

There were a few uneasy laughs from the assembled group before Sesshoumaru continued speaking, "I know that there has been some talk about my absence the past few weeks and I am here to set the record straight before I am to marry. As you all know, my future bride was taken from me a little over a month ago and I went to Sparta to reclaim her. I was successful in my mission, but something was taken from me as I reclaimed my bride from Sparta." At this he released the sleeve of the robe and pulled his arm in front of him, revealing to all that he did not have a left arm. "As I fought for Kagome's freedom, I sustained a great injury to my left arm. The doctor's were able to save my life but in order for me to live I had to give up my arm. I pray that you will stand behind me even though I have this new handicap, and if any of you doubt my governing power I will assure you all that I will overcome this and be a stronger emperor that I was before. I will have an empress and she will be my left arm. So I ask you all to maintain you loyalty to me, here on the day of my marriage."

The room was silent for a moment before a roar of applause swept through the building, a symbol to Sesshoumaru that his people still stood behind him. A tiny smile crept across Sesshoumaru's face as his faith in his people was renewed.

"I thank you." He said, nodding to the people, "Now I believe that my future wife has been waiting long enough." He turned to face Miroku, nodding to his friend to begin the ceremony that Sesshoumaru had been waiting for months.

The doors at the end on the hall opened and Kagome walked in. she was wrapped in his mother's veil that she had saved from Sparta. Underneath he could see she was dressed in a long white gown and her long black hair was curled atop her head, a white cord wound throughout it. She walked down the aisle until she reached Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, taking her place in front of Miroku at Sesshoumaru's side.

"We are here in the presence of Zeus and the pantheon of the Gods, as well as in the presence of the court of Athens to join our emperor, Sesshoumaru with Kagome, former priestess from the temple of Artemis. Sesshoumaru, do you take Kagome as your empress, til death do you part?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome, marveling in how beautiful she looked, even under the veil, and cracked a smile that only she could see before answering Miroku with a confident, "Yes."

"And Kagome, do you take Sesshoumaru as your husband, as long as you both shall live?"

Kagome smiled at Sesshoumaru brightly, "Yes, I do." She responded before Sesshoumaru reached forward and pulled the veil away from her face.

"Very well. By the powers vested in me as the high priest of Zeus, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."

Sesshoumaru leaned forward and placed his lips gently against Kagome's in a chaste kiss before pulling away and taking her hand in his own.

"May I present to you, the Emperor and Empress of Athens" Miroku said enthusiastically as the two walked out of the room, towards the room where their dinner would be held. They walked down the hall hand in hand until Sesshoumaru pulled her into his – now _their_ – chambers.

"Your highness, we are going to be late to our own wedding dinner" Kagome said as she followed him back into his bedroom.

"Kagome, you are my wife now, you are no longer allowed to call me "your highness" all right?"

She nodded, "Sorry, it is the force of habit I suppose. But why are we in here?"

"I wanted to give you something. I want you to wear it to the dinner." He said, motioning for her to come closer.

She approached him excitedly, eager to see what he had for her, to see that in his hand he held out a gown of deep burgundy – her favorite color.

"It's beautiful." She said, taking it from him and quickly leaving the room to change. When she returned Sesshoumaru was awed by how beautiful she looked, the veil was folded and placed on the bed and she adjusted her hair to perfection as she smiled at him.

"You're wearing the necklace I gave you," he said, realizing that she was indeed wearing the large diamond necklace he had given to her when he first brought her to the palace. Her hand went up around her neck, gently touching the necklace.

"I love it."

He smiled at her, a real smile, causing Kagome to smile ear to ear as she reached out her hand, taking his in hers as they exited the chambers ready to go and see the court for their wedding feast.

"Are you ready to face your people, empress?" He asked her.

She laughed lightly, "As ready as I'll ever be, husband."

**

_Authoress' Note: And that my loyal readers, is the end. If enough people want an epilogue I will be more than happy to write one, it will be about a year or so into the future. I hope you've enjoyed the wild ride this story was and I'm glad that so many people have stuck by me even though sometimes I would go months at a time without updating so thank you so much! You guys were the reason why I kept going._

_Now I have decided that I am only going to update one story at a time and I want you guys to choose which story I work on next! So in your reviews (which I hope you all leave) let me know what you want me to start updating next!_


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